


The Devil We Know

by OceanBreathesSalty



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Possible smut, Violence, Virologist!Laura, alternative Universe - disease outbreak, apocalypse-sorta, babyvamp!Carmilla, like vampirism caused by a weaponized virus, not your typical type of vampire, scientist!Lafontaine, that sort of vamp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-12
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-04-26 00:19:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 37,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4982455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanBreathesSalty/pseuds/OceanBreathesSalty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Laura and Lafontaine are scientists working to create fast-acting vaccines at the CDC, the Corvae is a very unfriendly military sub-contractor working on biological weapons, Carmilla gets exposed to something she shouldn't have, and everyone is caught in the middle of a global bio-terrorist attack (aka, vampirism via viral infection). </p><p>It'll get pretty apocalyptic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Acute Toxicity of an Adaptable Strain

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of a nice, friendly intro chapter, setting up the background for the Big Bad Things to come. 
> 
> If there's any medical/science jargon you think I ought to explain, let me know.

“Have there been any marked changes in the condition of subject 023, Dr. Hollis?”

Lafontaine’s voice reaches Laura through the small speakers in her suit, nearly making her jump. It’s the loudest thing she’s heard outside of her own breathing for the past hour or so.

Laura sighs and looks up from her microscope, stretching her neck from side to side to relieve some of the stiffness that has gathered there. She finishes writing down her observations before turning to the scientist hovering behind her. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she says tiredly, “How was the meeting?”

Lafontaine waves away her question with quick flicks of their wrist. “It was fine, boring. Now tell me about the subject. Any changes?”

“Yes,” she answers, “But you aren’t going to like them.”

Lafontaine raises their eyebrows in their usual dramatic fashion and says darkly, “Well, give it to me straight Doc, what’s the prognosis?”

Laura smiles, feeling a small amount of the anxiety that’s been weighing on her chest lift at her partner’s attempt at humor. She clears her throat before beginning to read from the chart in front of her. “After injection of test vaccine z205 forty-five minutes after infection, the test subject experienced apparent improvement in condition...”

Lafontaine leans forward, an excited smirk on their face.

“...including lowered heart rate and temperature, as well as a decrease in hemorrhagic bleeding...”

“That’s excellent!” Lafontaine exclaims, moving forward to take a closer look at Laura’s notes. Laura quickly leans back on her stool, moving out of the way of Lafontaine’s own bio-haz helmet - the scientist had a tendency to forget just how bulky their suit was in moments of excitement.

“Yes,” Laura continues dryly, “It was excellent. Until approximately 15 minutes after administration of the vaccine, at which time the subject experienced a spike in temperature, heart rate, and hemorrhagic bleeding until the time of death 4 minutes later.”

Laura can’t see Lafontaine’s face fall, as they’re still turned away examining Laura’s notes, but she can hear the disappointment in their voice. “Oh. Okay. So length of survival post infection was approximately 64 minutes? That’s...that’s better than yesterday. And the subject experienced rapid improvement in condition before death? That’s...that’s good, too.”

Laura can’t help but cringe at the timidly hopeful tone of Laf’s voice. It was the same every week. On Monday Lafontaine would subtly alter the structure of their experimental anti-viral protein base, add weakened viral material from a common, but mutated virus, and throw the new vaccine at said big, bad virus. By midweek Laura would be studiously recording the results of various trial runs which, although wildly unpredictable, so far always ended in death. And by Friday Laura would find herself being forced to point out all the things that had gone wrong. After all, they couldn't afford to _both_ be unrealistically optimistic.

She takes a deep breath to steady herself, wishing she could run her hands through her hair as she normally would when fighting exhaustion and frustration. “Yes, that is good Dr. Lafontaine,” she says gently. “But what is not good is the fact that vaccine z205 apparently also increased the strength and speed of the virus within a remarkably short time-frame. A shorter time-frame even than vaccine z203 and z204. And unlike our former vaccines, I feel there's reason to believe that z205 itself might be directly responsible for the enhanced symptoms and eventual death of the test subject.”

Lafontaine looks up from the notes they were studying, brow furrowed. “You think that’s likely? You think the vaccine itself was the cause of death and not the initial infection?”

Laura tilts her head to look back at the notes behind Laf. She doesn’t really need to look at them to come to any conclusions, but she wants something to look at that isn’t Lafontaine. “Well," she states hesitatingly, "based on the current data, it is difficult to say with any concrete certainty. I _think_ it’s still possible that the virus mutated quickly enough to withstand the effects of z205 after administration, or perhaps the very nature of the vaccine allowed for a combined effort to increase the effectiveness of the infection. But, a concise conclusion cannot be drawn without further study of both the vaccine proper and the data gathered from remains of the test subject.”

She finally forces herself to look up, meeting Lafontaines eyes. “I feel like we’re playing with fire here and this form of vaccine...I don’t know. Every study we've conducted thus far leads me to believe that its dangers outweigh the potential for rapid patient recovery.” Laura holds her breath while she waits for Lafontaine to respond. It’s difficult for any scientist to hear continual bad news, it’s exponentially worse when it sounds like your partner is rejecting your own brain-child.

After a long moment Lafontaine lets out a sigh and smiles one of their hopeful smiles. “Well,” they begin slowly “that royally blows, but I guess that’s what we brought you in for, huh? We can examine the base structure more closely together and see if we can't alter a few components to affect the initial interaction between vaccine, host cells, and virus. Sound good?”

Laura lets out the breath she’s been holding and smiles back at Laf, grateful for her partner’s goodnatured response. “Yeah,” she says, “but I've been in this lab for nearly 12 hours, so let’s get a beer and worry about how to completely restructure our vaccine tomorrow.”

“I like the way you think Hollis,” Lafontaine gives her a huge smile before turning around to remove the slides from the various microscopes. “Just out of curiousity, who was the test subject today?”

Laura cringes, “It was Larry.”

“Larry!” Lafontaine looks genuinely disappointed. “I liked him! He’s the only one who figured out how to escape the maze.”

“I know,” Laura says. She doesn’t feel the loss of their test animals - mostly rats at this stage - as much as Lafontaine does, but she still feels that it is the most distasteful aspect of their job. “We just have to get better at making vaccines, and then we won’t have to worry about losing any more little buddies.”

Lafontaine nods absentmindedly as they begin to carefully remove Larry’s remains from the test area, placing the small creature in a sealed container to maintain molecular integrity until further tests could be conducted.

It takes the two suited scientists nearly an hour to clear their workstation, removing bio-hazardous material and storing away their notes and tools before uploading their data onto secure hard drives. Only once all potentially contaminated material had been dealt with following the proper protocols do both Laura and Lafontaine leave the lab, passing through the sterilization room, before finally removing their helmets with sighs of relief.

The air in their research quarters is more sterile than ‘fresh’, but it feels amazing on Laura’s face as she finally runs her fingers through her hair. It’s an odd feeling, not being able to touch your own skin for hours at a time.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Lafontaine remarks, running their hand through their own short hair that looks more orange than red in the light of the lab.

“What?” Laura asks, unzipping the front of her suit and stepping out with a well-practiced ease.

“I don’t know you how stay in there for so long.” Laf shakes their head, eyes wide. “You were in there for seven hours today, straight. And another five before lunch.”

Laura feels her face heat up and she turns around quickly, moving towards a bio-haz hamper to get rid of her suit before responding. “It was that long? I...I honestly didn’t really notice.”

She did notice, of course. In fact she often finds herself staying in the secure lab for extended periods of time on purpose. But the reasons behind that are not topics she’s particularly interested in discussing with her research partner.

She turns around in time to see Laf shake their head, tossing their own suit in a bio-haz bin. “Your work ethic is inspiring Hollis, but we should probably get you some fresh air and food before you collapse.”

Laura smiles and nods, glad for a change in topic. “Tacos?” she asks and swipes her security card through the slot near the lab entrance. She glances down at her watch before continuing, “It’s almost 9:30 now, we can make Jose’s happy hour. How do you feel about some tequila?”

Laf’s laugh is goodnatured as they follow Laura through the sliding glass door and down the hall. Like the lab behind them, there are no windows in the hallway, only shiny white surfaces and bright lights.

“You’re not sick of tacos and tequila yet?” Lafontaine asks, “You’ve been in San Juan for a month and that’s the only thing we’ve ever gone out to get. Do you even consume anything else?”

Laura chuckles at the question. People were always commenting on her eating habits. “Well,” she says thoughtfully, “Cookies. I eat a lot of cookies. Oh and hot chocolate of course. I’m a sucker for that.”

Laf’s shaking their head again, disbelief on their face. “You have the diet of a college freshmen Hollis, I don’t know how you survive.”

Laura opens her mouth to respond, a rather offended look on her face, when their conversation is interrupted by a loud voice ahead of them.

“ID’s out please! I need to see your security clearance badges!”

The security officer standing in front of them, blocking their way through the double doors that lead out to the lobby, is young and extremely tall. His black security outfit is pristine and his grip on his scanner is tight enough to make his knuckles go white. The only things shinier than his belt buckle are his black boots.

Laura and Lafontaine share a knowing look before suppressing their laughter and pulling out their security clearance cards and IDs. The new guys are always so serious.

Laura steps up first, uncomfortably aware of how short she is standing next to the overly-excitable security guard. “Dr. Hollis?” The young man mutters, looking up from Laura’s ID to examine her face. “You look a little young to be a doctor, dude.”

Laura’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise and she replies, “And you look a little young to be guarding high security zones.”

She can’t help her smirk as his face turns red and he clears his throat indignantly. The new guys are always so serious _and_ uptight.

“I’ll have you know, I just got out of the Navy!” he lifts his chin up proudly.

“Oh?” Laura says quickly, “How very impressive.”

It actually is impressive, but Laura feels she ought to give the new guy at least a little bit of trouble. As expected, his face reddens further and he opens his mouth to respond, but only sputters. Laura is caught between feeling a bit guilty for embarrassing him so thoroughly and finding his reaction hilarious. She takes a breath, “Look…” she begins.

Laf nudges her shoulder lightly. “Give him a break Laura,” they mutter under their breath, “I really want to just go and get some tacos.”

Laura smiles over her shoulder at Laf before turning back around, “Look,” she begins again and finds the name tag on his chest. “Kirsch, is it? I’m Dr. Hollis and this is Dr. Lafontaine. We work together in the IDP lab and you’ll be seeing a lot of us. Like, a lot a lot.” She pauses before adding, “And that is actually impressive, the Navy thing. We’re glad to have you here at the CDC.” The security guard’s face relaxes into a grin and Laura smiles back tentatively.

“It’s cool bro...uh, Dr. Hollis. This is my first day and it’s just a...little nerve wrecking. Especially since my CO is this super intense redhead…”

“You mean Danny?” Lafontaine interjects.

“Uh, yeah,” Kirsch replies, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “You know her?”

“Yeah,” Laura answers. “She runs security for the building...or the at least the public parts of the building.”

“Wait, _this_ is a public part?” Kirch’s tone is disbelieving.

“Uh, yeah,” Laura says. “Technically. Most of the building is used by CDC personnel, with some labs working in conjunction with the WHO, but that shiny new addition to the building? You know, the one with actual military personnel guarding the entrances? Well that’s entirely private and entirely military contracted.”

“Oh,” Kirsch says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess that explains Big Red’s...I mean Danny’s...reaction this morning.”

“Reaction to what?” Laf asks as they step forward with their ID and security clearance card out.

“Oh,” Kirsh says, grinning a little sheepishly. He barely glances at Laf’s ID before running the security card through his scanner “Well she just sort of got into it with one of the other dudes, you know the ones with the desert storm looking get-ups? It...It wasn’t pretty.”

Laura can’t help her laughter, although it is a bit bitter. “That’s not surprising. There isn’t exactly a lot of love lost between us and those guys. Especially since their funding makes our budget look like it belongs to a high school science fair program.”

Kirsch grimances. “Ouch,” he says apologetically, “That’s sucks dude.”

There’s a quick buzzing sound and both of the double doors open behind Kirsch.

“Yeah, it does suck.” The tall, red-headed woman strolling through the doors looks directly at Kirsh as she speaks, “But not unexpected. What is unexpected is how long it’s taking for you to clear these two through security. Having trouble already Wilson?”

“It’s Kirsch!” The security guard mumbles hotly under his breath while he quickly swipes Laura’s security card through his scanner and wildly waves his metal detector in front of both scientists’ bodies.

Laura can’t help but break into a huge smile as Danny steps fully through the door. Seeing the tall, red-headed security officer usually lifts her mood no matter how poorly things had gone in the lab. “Oh, it’s okay!” Laura says quickly, “We were just getting to know Kirsch here and giving him the rundown on those Corvae bastards.”

Danny scowls at the mention of the Corvae but it turns into a grin when her eyes find Laura’s. “Oh really? Well I guess that’s acceptable.”

Laura just smiles up at the tall redhead in front of her. “Yeah…”

Laf glances between Laura and Danny, noting their shy looks. “So,” they say slowly, “Are we allowed to leave or...”

Danny looks up quickly, the tips of her ears turning a bit pink. “Yeah, of course! Actually, I’m getting off right now and I was going to ask if you two wanted get some dinner?” Danny’s eyes move back to Laura’s at the end of her question.

“Yeah!” Laura responds excitedly, trying to ignore the way her stomach flips. It’s been doing that often recently, every time she runs into Danny. She doesn’t particularly want to examine what that feeling means, but after a disappointing day in the lab, she could use the distraction of Danny’s shy smiles and intense stares. “We were actually already planning on hitting up Jose’s to get tacos and tequila” Laura continues, attempting to sound a little less excited and a lot more casual. “Would you like to join?”

“Absolutely,” Danny replies, smiling at both Laura and Lafontaine.

“Perfect,” Lafontaine mutters. “But I’m seriously starving, so we’ll meet you there okay?”

“Okay,” Danny echoes and Laura nods, “Great.”

 

 

////

 

 

Jose’s Cantina is less of an actual building, and more of a large tiki style rectangular bar surrounded by tables and a makeshift dance floor. It’s a bit gritty and the service is pretty terrible, but the tequila is cheap and the establishment stands just a few yards away from the ocean’s edge. It’s this nearness to the water that makes the place so attractive to Laura. After spending 10 to 12 hours inside a climate controlled lab, often wearing a bio-haz suit, just feeling the breeze on her skin and smelling the salt in the air manages to bring Laura back to herself in a way her apartment or the city never does.

And well, the cheap tequila doesn’t hurt either.

“Como estas, mi amor?” The bartender is lean and tan, with a wicked smile that Laura finds comforting in its familiarity.

“Jose!” she says with a smile, fighting to be heard above the music and voices surrounding the bar. “It’s good to see you! Can I get the usual, as well as a couple extra shots of tequila and just like a lot of tacos? We’re at the back table.” Laura turns around and points out the table furthest away from the dance floor, and closest to the beach.

Jose smiles back, nodding his head. “Of course, mi amor! I’ll have someone bring it out, ya? The usual tabs?”

“Yeah, thanks!” Laura shouts out and she quickly steps back from the bar, allowing the other patrons to step in front of her and take their turn ordering. She slips her way through the crowd, ducking under arms and side-stepping dancers until she reaches her table, which seems to be engulfed in a rather uncomfortable silence.

Danny is sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, a look of annoyance on her face. Although she’s purposefully not looking directly at him, her eyes keep finding the smiling young man sitting next to her. Kirsh looks much more relaxed now that he’s out of his uniform and he seems oblivious to Danny’s rather hostile stares. Lafontaine is crammed in next to Kirsch, fiddling with their empty glass while sneaking glances at the curly-haired redhead next to them. Laura sighs quietly to herself before taking her seat.

Drinks with Laf had turned into a group activity and she wasn’t entirely sure that she wouldn’t rather be spending her Friday home alone instead.

“Laura!” the newest redhead at the table looks up excitedly, leaning forward in her chair. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Hey Lola,” Laura replies, looking at Lafontaine out of the corner of her eye. They’re staring determinedly at the glass in their hand with a slight frown on their face.

“Please, call me Perry.” Perry’s smile is bright and, like Kirsch, she doesn’t seem to notice the tension at the table.

“Oh, right. Sorry!” Laura inches her chair over, trying to make a little more room for herself. “Perry, do you, uh, often come to Jose’s’?” Laura winces as soon as the question escapes her mouth. It sounds stiff even to her ears and she loathes the idea of making Perry uncomfortable, even if Perry does work as a liaison to the Corvae corporation and is thus little trusted by the scientists at the CDC.

Perry furrows her brow, looking a bit uncomfortable. “Oh, um. Not really, I’ve never actually been here before. I just ran into Sus - Lafontaine in the parking lot and they invited me out...I hope that’s okay?”

Laura shakes her head quickly. “Oh, no of course it is! That’s completely okay! Great, actually. It’s just...you know, a lot of people come here after hours to wind down and umm...you know I’ve never seen you here before and umm yeah. It’s great that you’re here though.” Laura knows she’s rambling and feels the tips of her ears burning, but she gives Perry a tentative smile anyway.

“Yeah! I guess this is sort of where all the docs and people hang out,” Kirsch adds, leaning forward in his chair. He doesn’t seem to notice the look of disgust on Danny’s face and he continues, “I didn’t realize the security crew and the docs all like hang out together, it’s totally cool!”

“Not everyone hangs out together,” Danny retorts quickly, “It’s really a more... _selective_ group of people, like invite only?”

Kirsch’s face falls just a little. “Oh,” he says, “Well…you invited me didn’t you Lawrence?”

Danny rolls her eyes. “You invited yourself Wilson. That’s what it’s called when you listen in on someone else’s conversation and decide that their own invitation extends to you.”

Kirsch face is turning a bright shade of red. “I told you, it’s Kirsch.”

“I told you, I don’t care.”

“Okay!” Laura almost yells, “Look, drinks are here, okay? Let’s just...drink them, and Kirsch, you are completely welcome to join us tonight.”

Danny makes quick eye contact with Laura before staring dejectedly at the bottle of beer placed in front of her. Laura just rolls her eyes and passes a shot to Lafontaine before lifting up her own up.

“To going back to the drawing board,” she says.

“To the drawing board,” Laf echoes.

The tequila burns Laura’s throat and settles hotly in her stomach. She quickly chases it with a gulp of her beer and closes her eyes, focusing on trying to relax her shoulders.

“Back to the drawing board?”

Laura opens her eyes to look at Perry, wondering if she wants to, or even should, answer her question. Before she makes a decision Lafontaine speaks up.

“Well,” they say, an edge of excitement to their voice. “It’s not completely back to the drawing board. We just have to reevaluate the apparent binding nature of our own vaccine with a highly adaptable strain of…”

“Basically,” Laura interjects quickly, “We just have to change the way our vaccine interacts with the infected and uninfected cells of our test subjects. Boring stuff, really.” She gives Lafontaine once last, hard look before glancing at Perry. They were not supposed to discuss details of their work with anyone, especially someone working with the Corvae.

“Oh,” Perry says with a smile. “That sounds…well you’re right, it does sound a little boring. But not much differ from what a lot of the Corvae scientist are working on right now.”

Everyone at the table sits up straighter at Perry’s direct mention of the military contractor they were forced to share work space with.

“Really?” Danny asks, one eyebrow raised. “The Corvae are interested in finding vaccines for mutated viruses?”

Perry looks down at her drink, cheeks turning a slight red. “Well, not vaccines per say...but I’m not really supposed to talk about it.”

“Right,” Laura mutters, taking a long swig of her beer. “I doubt they’re interested in fighting disease, being military contractors and all.”

Lafontaine clears their throat quickly before anyone can respond. “Hey, we talk about work enough when we’re actually there. Let’s, uh, discuss something else.”

“Or we can do less talking and more drinking,” Danny suggests, eyeing the rest of the tequila shots and the pitcher of beer.

Kirsch smiles wide beside her. “Bros, we can do both. You guys ever play 20 questions?”

Laura watches as Danny, Kirsch, and Laf argue about what the best drinking game to play is while at a beach in Puerto Rico, but her mind is still stuck on what Perry said. It turns her stomach to think that she’s working in the same building as people who are crafting diseases - biological weapons - while she’s fighting so hard to find better methods to cure them. Of course, no one knows for sure what the Corvae are doing, and they don’t exactly share their research.

She glances back at Perry who’s smiling shyly at Lafontaine and attempting to suggest a drinking game involving alphabetically listed cities. She isn’t exactly one of the Corvae. Perry isn’t even a scientist, and her only crime is attempting to improve the cooperation between the new Corvae scientists and everyone else at the CDC.

Laura scolds herself internally, _remember that Hollis._

With one last sigh Laura shoves her worries to the back of her mind and takes another swing of her beer before asking the others if they’d ever heard of ‘riding the bus’.

 

////

 

Three hours later Laura finds herself sitting close to the water’s edge, a nearly empty bottle of beer in her hand and her shoes tossed down beside her. She’s holding on tightly to Lafontaine’s keys, she’d stolen them as soon as the swaying scientist had threaten to drive home and had kept them even after Perry had put her arms around Laf and steered her towards a cab.

The bar is quiet now and she can hear the slurred voices of Danny and Kirsch at the table a few yards behind her. They’re arguing intensely, as they’d been doing all night. Laura thinks she hears something about “proper security protocols”.

She giggles to herself and scooches closer to the water, until her feet hit wet sand. Once the water laps up around her feet she leans back, resting her head against the ground. The sky above her is choked with impossibly bright stars and everything seems to be spinning a little to the left.

It occurs to her that she might be a little more drunk than she thought. Then again, three beers and an unholy number of tequila shots had a tendency to do that to her.

But now her head feels wonderfully empty and the anxiety she usually feels curled in her chest is gone, replaced with a near-calm that she's had difficulty finding outside of her secure lab. The lab that she’s practically been living in since arriving in Puerto Rico.

She sighs at the direction of her thoughts. _Puerto Rico._ Why is she here, exactly? This isn’t the type of work she always imagined herself doing. It isn’t at all the type of work she’d been doing a few months ago. But now, here she is, living on an island with more vacation resorts than proper homes, doing work she finds more frustrating than satisfying and sharing space with corporate assholes.

She can’t even _speak_ _Spanish_ for fucks sake.

She sighs again, and brings the bottle up to her mouth. A little of the beer spills down the side of her face as she attempts to empty the bottle while still laying down and she wipes it off roughly.

She knows why she’s here, why she spends 12 hours a day working in an uncomfortable hazmat suit and ignoring personal phone calls. She understands perfectly why she left her dream position at the VIDRL in Australia to come work on mutated viruses for the CDC. She  _knows_ why...she just can't bring herself to think the words, ever. _  
_

The stars are spinning faster above her and she closes her eyes, trying to ignore the tilting of the earth beneath her. _Get it together Hollis._

“Who’s Hollis?”

Laura jerks up quickly, laying her palms flat on the sand beside her to keep herself steady. She wasn’t aware that she’d spoken anything out loud.

“Um, I’m Hollis,” Laura says tentatively, attempting to find the source of the voice.

She hears a quiet chuckle, and then “Whatever you say, cupcake. Tell me, do you usually talk to yourself alone on beaches at night?”

 _Behind her, the voice is coming from behind her_. Laura turns around slowly, uncomfortably aware of how unsteady she is just sitting down. She squints against the lights coming off the bar and spots a slim, dark figure leaning against the wooden fence that separates the bar’s tables from the beach.

“I...um...not really?” Laura wishes she could make out the features of whoever she’s talking to. All she can see against the light is a shadowy figure with what could be long, dark hair. “Who are you?”

“Oh me?” The figure pushes off from the fence and walks casually down the beach until she’s even with Laura, but still far enough away to be hidden in shadow. “I’m no-one in particular cutie, and certainly not anyone you know.”

Laura thinks her voice sounds peculiar. Playful and teasing, but also bored and perhaps even a little hostile.

“Oh, okay.” Laura frowns to herself and sneaks a look at the stranger now lounging a few feet away. Definitely long, dark hair.

“Um...” Laura is suddenly uncomfortably aware of the messy state of her hair and the taco stain on her tank top. “I’m Laura, Laura Hollis. I’m not anyone you know either.”

She can hear the stranger laugh lightly, and it does something strange to her heart.

Laura looks back up at the stars, trying to think through the blood rushing in her ears. Before she can lose her nerve she asks, “What’s your name?”

She doesn’t receive an answer straight away and after a few minutes of what feels like strained silence Laura begins to stand up, using slow, measured movements so as not to fall and embarrass herself in front of this stranger, whoever she is.

“My name is Carmilla.” Her voice is so soft that it’s almost hidden in the rush of the waves, but Laura hears and she turns around to look directly at her.

Laura can see her better now, with the light from the moon playing across her upturned face. She is beautiful in a way that is almost heartbreaking, with features that are sharp but also soft, somehow. Realizing that she’s been staring at Carmilla with her mouth open, Laura quickly turns back towards the bar, awkwarding grabbing her shoes and other belongings from where they're scattered in the sand.

“Um,” she says, a little breathlessly, “It’s nice to meet you Carmilla. I've really got to go home, but maybe I’ll see you around here again?”

Carmilla doesn't make eye contact, but she says in the same teasing tone as before, “Well I suppose anything’s possible, cupcake.”


	2. Molecular Expression of a Non-Living Organism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where everyone is up to no good and Laura is a tiny ball of rage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually half of what was meant to be Chapter 2 (so I'm sorry for the lack of plot development), but I'm heading out of town tomorrow and wanted to give you guys something before I left.
> 
> I figured half of a chapter was better than having nothing until next week ;)

_“There is nothing so patient, in this world or any other, as a virus searching for a host.”  -Mira Grant_

 

The impossibly bright sunlight shining through Laura’s open window wakes her just moments before her cell-phone begins to vibrate loudly somewhere near the vicinity of her head.

She lets out a strangled groan before burying her head beneath her sweat dampened pillow, hands searching around her sheets for the offending phone.

“H-hello? This is...Dr. Hollis.” Laura’s mouth is unbearably dry and her words stick uncomfortably in her throat before she is able to spit them out.

“Laura! Hey, it’s Laf. How’re you feeling champ?”

Lafontaine’s voice sounds overly chipper and far too loud in Laura’s ear, adding to the steady pounding rhythm already beginning to pick up behind her eyes.

She groans into the phone before burrowing further into her sheets. They stick to her hot skin and tangle around her legs, but at least they protect Laura from the blinding light that seems to have already filled her room.

“Laf?” Laura grumbles, “I don’t mean to be rude, but why the frilly fuck are you calling me on a Saturday morning?”

Lafontaine only chuckles lightly before answering in a teasing tone, “ _Morning_ , Laura? It’s 1:00pm. And I’m calling you because you haven’t been answering my texts even though we have a last minute mandatory meeting in about half an hour with a bunch of big shot bureaucrats from Corvae.”

“What!?” Laura lifts her head up quickly, finally daring to open one eye against the brightness of the room to glance at the wristwatch lying on her bedside table. “30 minutes? Are you freaking kidding me? When the hell did this meeting get called?”

Laura hits the speaker button on her phone and sets it down on her bed before gingerly getting up and running a not-so-gentle hand through her tangled hair. She lets out an irritated groan.

_There’s no way I have time to shower._

She continues to move about her room, rummaging for presentable clothes and her bottle of Tylenol, while Lafontaine’s voice carries over the speaker.

“Apparently it was called rather late last night after we left the lab when the  _Director of_  freaking  _Pharmaceutical Research and Development_  - some Corvae lackey, I’m sure - arrived in the city and demanded a facility wide meeting between the Corvae scientists and the CDC researchers. Evidently this Director - Lilita something? - has enough sway in Washington to pull this type of stunt.”

“Rou ran’t...be serious!” Laura almost yells, yanking her toothbrush out of her mouth harshly. “So this is obviously just going to be some sort of...mandatory pep rally begging for more cooperation between us and them? And on a Saturday too?”

The line is silent for a few moments as Laura pulls on an only slightly wrinkled button-up.

“I think it’s worse than that Hollis.”

Laura freezes mid button at Lafontaine’s dark tone. “What exactly do you mean?” She asks slowly.

“It means, I think this Director hak is going to demand that we share our research.”

Laura is silent for a moment, hands bunching at her sides as white hot anger rolls through her.

“What,” she says sharply, “makes you think that? There is nothing, and I mean  _nothing_ , mandating that the CDC share their research or data with corporate warmongers who we all know are developing  _biological freaking weapons_  just down the damn hall from us. It’s ridiculous enough that the Center for Disease  _Control_  has to share space with them, there’s no way in hell or Hogwarts we’re sharing our research too.”

She hears Lafontaine sigh over the speaker and closes her eyes for a moment, willing both her frustration and headache to dissipate before she says anything regrettable. The mere thought of even indirectly aiding in the creation of weapons - weapons used to  _make people sick_  - sparks a violent anger in Laura that she honestly finds terrifying, and she absolutely does not want to unleash that anger on her friend.

“I know that Laura,” Lafontaine says gently, “And I would never have thought that they could have the power to do that, but just trust me, okay? I sort of have an inside source.”

Laura furrows her brow in confusion, “What inside sourc - oh...ooh. You mean Perry?! Wait, Laf...where are you right now? You know, I think I still have your keys from last night…how did you get home? Did you even _go_ home?”

“Nevermind that,” Lafontaine responds hastily. “I’ll be back at headquarters in just a few minutes. Do you have a way to get there?”

Some of the anger swirling inside Laura disappears and she can’t help but smile for her friend -  _wonder where they spent the night?_  “Yeah,” she says pseudo-brightly. “I got a ride home and still have my bike, so I can meet you there.”

Laura pauses for a moment, concentrating on pulling her hair into an at least somewhat professional bun, “But you have to promise to be waiting for me with a very large latte...double shot of espresso please. Oh, and a donut!”

Lafontaine’s smirk is apparent in their voice, “You got it Hollis, but don’t you even think about showing up late and leaving me alone with these Corvae bastards.”

Laura smiles before reaching for her phone and grabbing her shoes from the end of her bed, “I wouldn’t dream of it, Captain.”

After a quick goodbye Laura snaps her phone shut and heads towards the door of her rather small apartment. She grabs her sunglasses from the counter along with her helmet and keys before taking off quickly through the door.

She has fifteen minutes to make it the 10 miles to the CDC building and not for the first time she’s glad she switched out her beloved ten-speed for a small, black motorcycle.

 

////

 

Twelve minutes later Laura rushes through the brightly lit CDC lobby, pushing her sunglasses onto the top of her head while swiping her security clearance card through the sensor and hurrying past the large, rectangular metal detectors.

“Hollis, you’re almost late dude!”

“I know, I know,” she grumbles in the direction of Kirsch, who’s standing post outside of the large double-doors leading to the facility’s cafeteria. The CDC building isn’t actually equipped with a conference room large enough to hold both the CDC employees  _and_  the Corvae scientists, so any inter-office meetings were always held in the cafeteria.

Laura notices that Kirsch’s security outfit isn’t quite as pristine as it was yesterday, but that’s the only indication that he’d drunk the entire group under the table the night before.

“How are you still standing, Kirsch?” Laura asks as she pauses in front of the doors, “You and Danny were still going shot for shot when I finally went home last night.”

Kirsch flashes a self-satisfied smile before shrugging his shoulders. “I told you bro,” he says smugly, “I was in the Navy. I was actually considered the lightweight in my unit, if you’ll believe it...but I also happen to have a super awesome, super secret hangover cure.”

“Super secret hangover cure, huh?” Laura raises an eyebrow, “You’ll have to share the recipe with me. It’s CDC protocol, I swear.”

“Sure it is bro,” Kirsch responds with a wink. “I think I’ll have to at least share it with Lawrence; she didn’t even make it into work this morning.”

Laura shakes her head with a laugh before waving a quick goodbye to the security officer and heading into the already packed cafeteria.

The room is large and overly bright to Laura’s still sensitive eyes. She squints and shields her face from the sunlight streaming in through the cafeteria’s many windows, searching for the familiar shock of red hair. She notices with a pang of unease that the room is obviously segregated, with most of the outnumbered CDC employees huddled together in the back of the room.

It takes her a moment but she finally spots Lafontaine waving frantically at her from the unofficial CDC corner. She walks over quickly and eases into the empty seat next to her research partner.

“You’re cutting it a bit close, Hollis,” Laf mutters under their breath, slowly taking their eyes off the curly-haired redhead standing at the front of the room before handing Laura her promised latte and pastry.

“Yeah, well they’re lucky I showed up at all,” Laura answers quietly. “Now tell me about this Director and the blatant theft of our research.”

Lafontaine cringes before subtly pointing in Perry’s direction. “You see that woman standing next to Perr? You know, the one dressed like a corporate devil? That’s her. Lilita Morgan, Director of Pharmaceutical Research and Development for the Corvae Corporation.”

Laura eyes the woman over the top of her beverage, the corners of her mouth turning down in distaste. The Director is all sharp edges and dark colors, with a short skirt and even shorter dark hair that reflects the light shining in through the windows behind her. There’s a bright smile plastered on her lips as she nods her head in apparent agreement with whatever Perry’s telling her, but her eyes are cold and her smile does nothing to soften the hard lines of her face. She is beautiful, but in a way that screams danger and sends a shiver up Laura’s back.

“Wow,” Laura mutters quietly, finally taking a sip of her drink and looking back at Lafontaine. “She’s…”

“Terrifying?” Lafontaine suggests.

“Yeah, that seems like an adequate description.” Laura takes a deep breath and swipes a few strands of hair out of her face. “So, what are we going to do about our research?”

Lafontaine is looking back up at Perry and frowns slightly before turning back to face Laura. “I think I’ve got a solution for that.”

“Oh?” Laura can’t help but raise her eyebrows. “And what solution might that be?”

Lafontaine’s face breaks into an ear-splitting grin and they lean in closer, lowering their voice.

“Well, we are going to have to share something with those bastards, but I’ll be damned if I let them get their hands on my anti-viral protein base. I’ve been working on that since graduate school and I’m not about to let them take it without a fight.”

“Okay,” Laura says slowly, “but if we get a mandate from upstairs to share our data, how exactly do you plan on stopping them from combing through our files?”

Lafontaine’s smile widens. “Oh, they can comb through them all they want, but they won’t find anything important. I just might have found a way to protect some of our more...sensitive research.”

“How…” Laura begins.

“J.P.” Lafontaine answers quickly. “I’ve been in contact with him all morning and as we speak he is…’buffing up’ our security protocols on the bulk of our research and setting up certain hidden caches for data that we don’t feel like sharing...data like my protein base structure and binding formula for vaccine creation.”

Laura leans back in her chair, mouth hanging open while she processes what Lafontaine just told her.

“You’re brilliant,” she says simply, “Both of you. But how did you convince J.P. to help? Can’t he potentially lose his job for hiding data like that?”

Lafontaine shrugs noncommittally, “J.P. and I go back a while, and I honestly think he likes the Corvae even less than we do. Besides, he sees it as fun challenge; I don’t think the possible consequences really even occurred to him.”

“Right,” Laura concedes, but she can’t help recalling all the times J.P. had joined them for tacos and beer, staring at Lafontaine in a way that hinted at more than friendship. The same way Lafontaine was now staring at Perry.

Laura quickly checks her wristwatch, the ‘meeting’ ought to have started already, but the Corvae reps and the Director are still milling about the podium in an unorganized fashion. There's nothing more Laura or Lafontaine can do about the research situation until after the meeting and Lafontaine is still staring openly at Perry from across the room.

“So,” Laura begins in a teasing tone, “How did you get home last night, Laf?”

Lafontaine’s ears immediately go red and their eyes drop down to their lap. Laura bits her lip to hide her smirk.

“Well, the thing is, I didn’t...technically go home.” Laf’s voice is so quiet that Laura has to lean in closer to catch their words.

“Oh really? I thought  _Perr_  called you a cab?”

The redness on Laf’s ears spreads down to their face, and they clear their throat. “Well, I was a bit too drunk to give proper directions, wasn’t I? Perry was...kind enough to let me sleep on her couch. She really is just...she’s very nice.”

Laura smiles and puts a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I think she’s really nice too, Laf.”

Lafontaine returns Laura’s smile before raising their eyebrows suggestively. “And when did you get home last night? I noticed this morning that Danny isn’t here…”

Laura sighs and looks back up at the podium. “I took a cab...we didn’t go home together or anything. In fact, after you left her and Kirsch just sort of argued the whole night. I...I honestly don’t think anything’s going to happen between us.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Lafontaine frowns and there's an edge of disappointment to their voice.

“Oh it’s alright,” Laura replies, and she honestly feels that it is. Danny is beautiful and sweet, but also protective in a way that makes Laura feel uncomfortably like a child. And, if Laura is being honest, their flirtation was never more than a welcome distraction from the stress of her job and the generally messy state of her life.

“Besides,” Laura continues quietly, “I met this...breathtaking woman on the beach last night. I mean, we didn’t really say much to each other - I was more drunk than I’ve been in ages - but I can’t seem to get her out of my head.”

Lafontaine rolls their eyes. “Seriously? You would meet some beautiful stranger on a beach! I’ve been on this island for an entire year, and do you think I’ve had any run-ins with beautiful strangers? Nope, nada.”

Laura nearly chokes on her latte, letting out a loud laugh that cuts through the silence of the room.

Lafontaine chuckles too, but both scientists quickly quiet when they notice the angry stares Perry and the Director are shooting their way. It seems that the meeting is finally beginning.

Still eyeing them suspiciously, Lilita moves deliberately to the front of the podium, clearing her throat before smiling out at the gathered crowd.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen,” she says in a silky voice, “I want to thank you for graciously agreeing to meet with me today. I deeply appreciate your willingness to sacrifice your Saturday in order to discuss a few incredibly important topics.”

Laura rolls her eyes. “Graciously agreed? Like we were given a choice.”

Lafontaine grunts quietly in agreement but doesn’t take their eyes of the podium and Laura can clearly see the sudden tension in their shoulders.

She sighs, settling down further in her chair before eyeing her pastry. She really ought to eat it but she can already feel the anger rising in her chest as the Director begins to praise the potential advantages of collaboration. The woman’s sickly sweet voice turns Laura’s stomach and suddenly the idea of eating anything is revolting. Laura instead turns her eyes back to the Director, clenching and unclenching her fists to keep her frustration in check. Each word Lilita speaks feels like a rock dropping in the pit of Laura’s stomach and it’s all she can do to keep her growing hatred from reaching her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading creampuffs!
> 
> I edited this pretty quick, so if you catch any glaring/annoying grammatical errors, please yell at me about them in the comments.
> 
> I'll have another (considerably longer) chapter for you on Monday/Tuesday.


	3. Contagium Vivum Fluidum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Carmilla is mostly scared and also Larry the rat isn't quite as dead as everyone thought.  
> Also known as: introduction of VZ-205 to patient zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I am a few days late with this update, but my weekend/week was much more hectic than I'd originally anticipated.  
> BUT you get this chapter entirely from Carmilla's POV so cheers to that.
> 
> You're welcome, creampuffs.

Carmilla sighs loudly as she pauses in front of a set of large double doors and surveys the room in front of her. The space - a strange combination of cafeteria and conference room - is large and bathed in bright sunlight, courtesy of a substantial number of expansive windows on three of the room’s walls. Towards her right, in what looks to be the ‘front’ of the room, is a hastily erected platform and podium surrounded by corporate suits. Carmilla’s stomach twists uncomfortably as she spots her mother among them, looking confident and at ease despite the obvious tension in the room. Or perhaps because of it.

_Mother did always enjoy watching people squirm._

Carmilla turns away from the sight, swallowing reflexively, and attempts to maintain an air of disinterested boredom as she makes her way towards the back of the room. She can’t help but furrow her brow as she notices the blatant stares of both the CDC and Corvae employees and its with a sigh of relief that she quickly slides into a chair at a vacant table. She’s as far away from the front of the room as she can possibly get while still straddling the invisible line separating the CDC from the Corvae. She doesn’t particularly want to be associated with either side until she gets a feel for what sort of clusterfuck she just walked into.

She fights the urge to run her hand through her disheveled hair or rub a palm against her leather-clad thigh, opting instead to pull her aviators back down over her eyes. The room darkens and Carmillia instantly feels more at ease. It’s so very obvious that she does not belong here, in this room full of tense, angry scientists and over-eager Corvae lackeys, but she will not give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her appear uncomfortable.

This is a game she’s played before, and she’s well practiced at it.

It doesn’t take long before she feels her mother’s eyes on her, boring into the top of her head, and her heart beat quickens in response. She ignores the prickling of her scalp and the sudden beads of sweat forming on the back of her neck as she reaches casually for the well-worn book in her bag. She lets the book fall open to a random chapter and waits a few moments before turning the page with a practiced nonchalance that she knows masks her anxiety.

_The game has started._

She can still feel her mother’s gaze on her minutes later as her eyes habitually flow over well-known words. She isn’t reading, she honestly can’t with the blood rushing in her ears. It’s all she can do to keep her breathing normal and -

_God she hates this._

She hates the fear that's been building in her chest gradually over the past few days, and she loathes the woman who's put it there. Her  _mother_. Worse, she hates herself for feeling her fear, for letting it overwhelm her, and for agreeing to come to this godforsaken island at all. She'd spent a year without a word from her mother, convincing herself that this time she would say no, this time she would refuse to come at her mother's beck and call and compromise her own values just for the sake of appearances.

But what had she done when her mother appeared last week on her doorstep, smile wide and appealing even while her eyes flashed dangerously? She had invited her in, how could she not? It was her  _mother_ after all. And when Lilita had asked so nicely for Carmillia to spend the summer with her in Puerto Rico, hinting that her siblings might be there as well, what had Carmillia done? She hadn't laughed in her face, the way she'd planned. She hadn't readily agreed either, but still, here she was. 

And Carmilla had a dark feeling that she wasn't here to sunbathe or drink mimosas. No, with every passing minute she grew more certain that she was here to work, to be groomed - just as her sister had been - for a life she desperately wanted to avoid. 

 _At least I had the gall to stand her up last night_. Carmilla smirks at the memory. She almost couldn't believe it when her plane had touched down outside the tiny tropical airport, it was like her body had brought her here without her mind's consent. But it had been entirely purposeful when she turned off her phone and fled her hotel room in the opposite direction of where she'd been told to meet her mother for dinner. It was a petty victory really, one that would surely lead to unpleasantness later on, but it had felt good. A small rebellion that she could manage without too much collateral damage. And then she'd met that woman - girl, really - on the beach, all slurred words and shy smiles and a face partially hidden in shadow...

A loud laugh breaks through the room's silence and drags Carmilla from her thoughts. Her head shoots up quickly and almost reflexively she begins looking for the source of the laughter - it sounds oddly familiar to her ears.

There’s a second laugh and Carmilla’s eyes are drawn to a pair of younger looking CDC employees just two tables up and to the left of her. The one closest to her has spiky red hair and looks more like a mad scientist than anyone really ought to. The other is hidden slightly behind her friend, but her outline stirs something inside Carmilla. She's familiar, but only just, and Carmilla finds herself leaning forward, her anxiety and the game with her mother forgotten for a moment, as she attempts to steal a proper glance at the woman.

The redhead shifts slightly and quite suddenly Carmilla can see her profile; her blonde hair is pulled into a messy bun and her clothes are professional, yet disheveled. She’s small too, small enough to be mistaken for a teenager from a large enough distance, but it is somehow obvious that she is no child. She seems to hold herself with the assurance of someone who has experienced enough of life to know who they are - or perhaps it is the way her shoulders slump slightly, as if with a weight that is only felt by those who have lost the naive optimism of real youth.

“Who are you?” Carmilla mutters under her breath and she stares intently at the woman, brow furrowed in concentration. 

Suddenly the redhead is leaning forward again and Carmilla loses sight of the other woman. She huffs in frustration before she notices her mother's voice echoing, sultry and sharp, throughout the room. Her stomach drops and she is impossibly glad for the sunglasses covering her eyes. She'd looked up, just for a moment, but it was enough for Lilita's eyes to find her own and if it wasn't for the aviators on her face Carmilla would have lost her game and be frozen in her mother's gaze.

As it was, Carmilla quickly moves her eyes back down to her book, pretending that she had not even noticed her mother's stare. Her heart is beating frantically again, but no one need know that.

She attempts to subtly take a deep breath before concentrating back on her book. She doesn't want to be here, she doesn't want to hear her mother's honied lies, or even think at all about what awaits her after this farce of a meeting - really a well-crafted show of strength.  She wills herself to become lost in the musings of Camus, and after a while she does.

She’s read two chapters before she begins to notice an increased level of noise in the room. She peeks around at her surroundings, while still keeping her nose in her book. No one has actually stood up to leave yet, but CDC employees have started to break out into hushed conversation and the air is exponentially tenser than it was just a minute ago.

“...and that is why it is of the utmost importance we begin to work together. If we were to combine the brilliant minds employed by the Corvae Corporation with the hard work and research of the CDC, why, there is no limit to what we can achieve.”

Carmilla looks up at the stage just long enough to see Lilita flash her signature smile and she fights an honest to god urge to gag.

“So we will begin the new collaboration initiative in two days time, combining both the CDC and Corvae servers so that both teams can have equal access to the most current research.” Lilita's voice oozes faux sincerity and excitement.

At her words the hushed conversations throughout the room begin to rise in volume and a few CDC scientists actually get up and begin moving towards the exits. Lilita seems to ignore them, that chilling smile still spread across her lips, but Carmilla knows that her mother is taking note of every single person who dared to leave before she’d finished talking. She suppresses a shudder at the thought of what might become of them once her mother obtained complete control over the facility. She would, of that Carmilla had no doubt. Lilita always,  _always_ got what she was after.

Carmilla tries to pull her attention back to her book, but her mother's voice is ringing in her ears now, sending spikes of anger and fear through her body.

“Specialist from the Corvae IT Department will be making their rounds to the various labs this weekend, in accordance with CDC protocol of course, in order to ensure the correct installment of our latest date storage and cybersecurity software.”

At those words the back corner of the cafeteria, where the mad scientist and the blonde are seated, all but breaks into an uproar, with chairs moving back quickly and angry words loudly whispered between tables.

Carmilla quickly glances over to the pair of CDC scientists she was observing earlier. The blonde is almost vibrating in her chair, fists balled in anger, and the other looks dangerously pale. She can't help but feel a stab of compassion for them, she understands only too well the feelings of impotence and anger which are surely racing through their bodies.

“Thank you so much for your time and cooperation,” Lilita purrs over the noise of the crowd. “I do hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.” With that last remark, she drops her smile and quickly steps back from the podium, moving determinedly towards the back of the crowd. Toward Carmilla.

Carmilla feels frozen. Her basic instincts are telling her to get up and move before her mother can reach her, but another part fears what her mother's reaction might be if she gives her the slip again. Besides, she does desperately want to see the face of the familiar blonde CDC worker. If only so that she could find - or avoid - her later.

 _Come on cutie, turn around_. A moment before Carmilla decides to bolt the blonde finally rises and begins walking hurriedly towards the exit, facing Carmilla as she does.

Carmilla can’t help the gasp that escapes her mouth. The beach, it’s the woman she met at the beach. Carmilla stares openly as her mind works to make sense of what she’s seeing. _Of all the coincidences in the world…_

Laura glances in her direction for a moment, looking away distractedly, but snaps her head back when she registers the sight of Carmilla. Carmilla in turn feels stuck in her gaze, unsure of what to say and knowing anyway that none of her words would carry across the chaotic cafeteria.

Laura’s eyes darken and Carmilla realizes too late that she must have been mistaken for one of the hated Corvae employees. 

 _Mistaken, Carmilla? You'll be a Corvae lackey by the end of the day, and you know it._ Carmilla frowns at the direction of her thoughts and without really knowing quite what she's doing, she's half out of her seat, every part of her itching to follow Laura. To explain, somehow, that she's not one of _them_. 

“Carmilla, darling. There you are.”

Carmilla freezes where she is, blood running cold, and she very slowly raises her eyes to meet the gaze of the woman standing in front of her.  _Game over_.

She straights up and blinks slowly before she speaks, trying her damndest to keep her voice uninflected.

“Hello, mother.”

She steals one quick glance over Lilita's shoulder, attempting to find Laura in the crowd, but she's already gone.

"Carmilla, look at me when I'm talking to you dear and take off those ridiculous sunglasses."

Carmilla's eyes whip back to meet her mother's and the dread pooling in her stomach is enough to shorten her breath.

"Sorry, mother," she mumbles and quickly removes her glasses before balling her hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

Her mother flashes a smile that doesn't reach her eyes, before putting a manicured hand on Carmilla's shoulder, directing her towards the exit.

"So, where did you get off to last night kitten? You know we were meant to get dinner and I got quite worried when I couldn't reach you on your cell."

_I'm sure you were completely worried. Worried that I'd wised up and gotten on the first plane back to the states._

Carmilla is half tempted to speak her mind, but the dread is still billowing in her stomach and she can't find the nerve. Instead she mumbles half-heartedly, "My phone died and I thought I'd go explore the city, you know get to know the place where I'm meant to spend the summer." Even to her ears her lie falls flat, but she can't bring herself to care too much. She feels as though she's already lost the game to her mother, and she isn't in the mood to play anyway.

Her mother shakes her head, tutting, and strengthens her grip on her daughter's shoulder. "Well I'd much rather you'd checked in with me, love. You know how I hate when plans fall through."

Her voice must sound sweet to anyone listening, but Carmilla hears the hidden threat. She can feel the fear growing inside her, mixing with her sense of dread, but she pushes it back and digs her nails into the palm of her hand. The pain is refreshing and allows her to move on to other, more useful emotions.

She'd much rather be angry right now, or at least apathetic, and to hell with the consequences.

When she doesn't speak or respond to her mother's words they both fall silent, walking through the crowded lobby and towards the double doors which lead to the Corvae section of the building. After breezing through security - Lilita seems to have an all access security card - Carmilla finds herself in a long, brightly lit hallway and she tries to remember each step she takes as she's led through doorways, down an elevator, and finally to a large, well furnished office.

The door closes tightly behind her and Carmilla takes a deep breath - trying to hold on her to anger - before she takes a seat facing her mother.

This room can't be her mother's actual office, she'd only been on island for a few hours longer than her daughter, but Carmilla is not at all surprised that Lilita managed to usurp the space so quickly.

"So," her mother says briskly, steepling her hands in front on her on the large, wooden desk.

" _So_ ," Carmilla echoes, smirking at the quick look of annoyance which flutters across Lilita's face.

"I'm glad you had a chance to explore the city last night dear, as I don't believe you'll have much time to do that over the next few weeks."

Carmilla arches her eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh? Why would that be?"

"Well I'll need you working here obviously, with me, helping me to smooth out the...transition the CDC will be experiencing this month."

Carmilla doesn't know how to reply to that, so she keeps silent and focuses on breathing regularly through her nose.  _This is it. I must not back down, I must not let her manipulate me._

Lilita's face breaks out in a smile, and it sends shivers down Carmilla's spine. "What did you think darling? That you would be sitting on a beach all summer with William and Mattie? You know I raised you to work for everything you receive. And that includes summers spent in a fine hotel on a beautiful island."

Carmilla takes a moment, just a small second, to steady herself before she speaks. "I didn't ask to come here,  _mother_." You invited me, remember? And you said nothing about me working for Corvae. I said I was done with this last summer, and I wasn't lying. I will not work here. I will not work for  _you_." _  
_

Lilita's smile drops and her eyes darken in a way that is sickly familiar to Carmilla. Her voice is deceptively soft when she speaks again. "I did not invite you here, Carmilla. You came here because I told you you must. You are mine, my daughter, and you will do as I say. Do you think you'll find a career in your field of  _study_?" Her voice is still soft, but the mocking tone is unmistakable. "Do you think you'll be able to support yourself pursuing  _philosophy_? I think not. And I will not financially support you as you laze about, staring at the stars and doing nothing  _productive with your life_!" Her voice rose only slightly at the end of her speech, but to Carmilla's ears it was as if she were shouting.

Lilita smiles once more before continuing in a sharp tone. "Besides, darling, I've already recruited that girl, what's her name? That one you  _love_? Ell? And if she can be so very happy working here, then why shouldn't you? I've given you everything you need and the time for petty adolescent rebellions is over."

Carmilla's stomach twists sickeningly and she can feel her anguish and her anger building in her chest, tightening like a vice around her lungs until her breath comes in ragged gasps.

"No," she whispers and stands up quickly from her chair.

"No?" Her mother repeats, eyes flashing dangerously.

"No. I will not stay here and work for you or this...this farce of a company. I will not help you coerce and manipulate and bully just to pad your bottom line. I will not do it."

Carmilla slams her hand down on her mother's desk and the look of shock on Lilita's face gives her a sense of sweet satisfaction. She turns quickly, pulling her hand off the desk and wrapping her fingers securely around the security card under her palm as she does. She's nearly out the door when she freezes, her mother's voice soft and deadly behind her.

"But don't you want to see your siblings, Carmilla? William and Mattie have missed you so very much this past year."

Carmilla shuts her eyes, attempting to block out the sorrow gripping her heart, but she doesn't turn around. She takes one deep breath before determinedly turning the handle and pauses just long enough to utter a few words over her shoulder. "They know where to find me if they want to see me, they always have."

Carmilla's heart is thumping wildly in her chest as she makes her way down the hall, heading in the direction of the lobby. She feels elated, deeply gratified to have stood up to her mother at last, but she also feels frightened and a small part of her mourns the loss of the chance to be with her family. To be with her brother and sister.

 _Don't dwell on it Carmilla_. 

She runs a hand through her hair as she enters the elevator, taking deep shuddering breaths to try and clear her mind.

She could be free. She has some money yet, and she could be on a plane  _tonight_ , headed home and away from her mother and the Corvae, and all the terrible things they did. She would be running away from her siblings too, but they'd chosen to fall in line. A part of Carmilla knows that they even  _like_ working for the Corvae. They like the power and the wealth their positions come with and they seem content to turn a blind eye to the atrocities they help commit.

 _I can't do that_. It might be easier if she could, and she'd even managed it for a while when she was younger. She was very good a the job her mother had allotted her, she was very good at manipulation - a trait most likely inherited from her mother - but it left her feeling sick, disgusted with herself. The self-loathing wasn't worth her own comfort, or even worth the chance to see her siblings and feel like she was actually a part of a functional family. And when her mother had  _seduced_ her girlfriend into joining the company after Carmilla had threaten to leave, well that was more than she could stand. She'd managed to stay away for a year after that, and maybe now she might manage to stay away permanently. 

The elevator dings softly and Carmilla steps through hurriedly, feeling more calm than she had in hours. She quickly passes through security using her mother's clearance card, but stops when she enters the lobby.

There are four Corvae security officers blocking the only exit, looking around suspiciously and speaking into hand held radios.

 _She wouldn't_. Carmilla shakes her head and quickly moves towards the next hallway, swiping her card through the scanner quickly. _Of course she would. When has mother ever hesitated to use force when her words were not enough?_

 Once through the double doors Carmilla leans against the wall, letting out an anxious breath. The tall - very tall - security officer standing near the doors shoots her a curious look but doesn't say anything.

Carmilla smirks at him and walks over. He looks too much like a puppy to be anyone she might worry about. "Hey cutie," she says playfully. "I'm new around here. You think you could point me in the direction of another exit?"

The security officer blinks a few times and rubs the back of his head. "Um, there really isn't one that isn't for emergencies. You're supposed to use the lobby."

Carmilla feels a stab of annoyance but keeps a smirk on her face and quickly finds the man's name tag. "Well...Mr. Kirsch, what if I'm having an emergency? Don't you think a girl ought to know where her exits are at all times?"

"Uhh," Kirsch looks torn. Surely this woman can't do anyone any harm right? She's nearly as small as Dr. Hollis and not too many inches taller. "Well, there is an emergency exit near the IDP lab, where Dr. Lafontaine and Dr. Hollis work, but that really isn't supposed to be used unless there's some sort of building emergency."

Carmilla raises her eyebrows and points down the hall, "The IDP lab is just down this hall, here?"

"Uh, yeah but..."

"Thanks, Cutie," Carmilla says quickly, winking before turning around and heading down the hall. It takes her a few moments before one of the names the security officer had listed off registered in her mind.  _Hollis_. That's the name...that's the name of the beach woman. 

Carmilla chuckles to herself as she uses her mother's security card to enter the IDP lab.  _Of course Laura would work in this lab. Of course._  She can't help but feel a thrill of excitement at the prospect of seeing the blonde again. Maybe she could explain to her that she really didn't work for the Corvae. And it wouldn't even be a lie. Carmilla's not sure what the point would be, she'll be leaving this island as soon as she can, but she can't deny her desire to set the record straight. Enough people thought of her as a monster, just a corporate slave, Laura didn't need to spend her life thinking that too.

The lab is empty when Carmilla enters, immaculately clean except for the boxes of papers sitting beside two computers. There's a shredder next to the boxes and a few trash bins filled with paper shreddings. Carmilla smiles as she looks around the room, it appears she's not the only one rebelling against her mother today.

She hears a muffled thud to her right and spins around. There's an odd looking door, plated in glass and outlined in red. The words CAUTION - SECURE LAB are written in bold, black letters above the frame. Carmilla hasn't a clue as to what a secure lab might be but after hearing a second, louder thud she approaches.

Cautiously she runs her stolen security card through the scanner and the door slides open with a hiss. There's another door in front of her and through it she can see two suited scientists actually  _running_ about in another room, this one filled with numerous lab equipment, most of which Carmilla could not even guess the names of.

With a shrug she walks through and the door closes tightly behind her. Air buffets her from both sides with a loud hum before the door in front of her slides open. She walks through, starting to feel a bit of apprehension as the two suited scientists fail to notice her. They are obviously talking to each other, but the words don't penetrate their suits. 

Suddenly both scientists are staring at her, waving their hands madly, and pointing down to her feet. One of them -  _Laura?_ \- pushes a button on the side of her helmet and her voice echoes out through speakers

"Stop him! Stop Larry! Get the rat, get the rat! But don't touch him!"

 _A rat? You have got to be kidding me_.

Carmilla looks down just in time to see a very white, very large rat scurry across her boot. There's something coating it's fur, something red. Without thinking she drops down and covers it with her hands. She can feel it squirm beneath her fingers and she fights her urge to gag before shouting. "Well don't just stand there, dimwits! Grab a jar or something!"

Both scientists seem to be shocked into movement and it's Laura who grabs some sort of glass container first, dropping to her knees in front of Carmilla.

Carmilla pushes the rodent into the container and feels a slight sting on her finger as the rat leaves her hands.

"Ouch! That motherfucker just bit me!"

She puts her finger in her mouth quickly, sucking the blood off while she slowly rises to her feet. She raises her eyebrows at the horrified looks on both of the scientists' faces before remembering exactly where she is. This is a secure lab. A secure lab _within_ the Infectious Disease Prevention Lab. Heavy emphasis on the  _infectious disease_ part.

Carmilla pulls her finger out of her mouth quickly, staring at it in horror. "Oh god, that rat didn't have like the black plague or something, right?"

She looks up at the two people in front her, searching their eyes for some sort of assurance. Laura's face is still masked in horror and the other - Lafontaine - looks as though they might vomit in their hazmat suit.

"Uh, not quite" they say, in a none too steady voice, "I'm not sure  _what_  Larry is infected with."

"Oh, well that's comforting." Carmilla's voice feels weak and she thrusts a hand out, reaching for the nearest counter to lean on. Her head is spinning sickeningly and her legs have begun to feel almost numb. Both scientists are staring at her with expressions that make her skin crawl - or maybe something else is making her skin crawl? 

She can't tell and her vision is beginning to blur, her heartbeat accelerating to an unnatural speed.

"What...what is happening to me?" she utters and puts a cautious hand to her face, she can feel something  _seeping_ from her nose. And the corners of her eyes. And her ears and mouth.

She gasps when she pulls her hand away and sees red, red blood covering her fingers and palm. She tries to walk forward, towards Laura, but her foot somehow misses the floor and she is falling.

 _Falling, falling_. Her vision is black and she should have reached the floor by now, but she's somehow still falling.

And then quite suddenly she isn't falling anymore. She's floating, someplace quiet and dark. There's the familiar sound of blood rushing in her ears and she hears more than feels a steady beating. It's slowing down, and as it does the sound of rushing in her ears slows too. She wonders if she's dying, but the idea seems far away. Too abstract to really contemplate as she floats in the darkness.

After a while the beating is gone and there is nothing but absolute silence.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you have questions/comments or see a terrible grammatical error that simply must be fixed.
> 
> I'll try to get out another chapter by Sunday, but I have two Halloween parties this weekend and I very much dislike writing while hungover.
> 
> So it might be early next week.
> 
> Go watch Season Zero if you haven't already Creampuffs!!


	4. Antigenically Variable Pathogens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Lafontaine is a mad scientist (as per usual), Laura needs to get some sleep (also as per usual), and Carmilla is just trying not to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapters starts off in Laura's POV but switches to Carmilla part way through.   
> I've noted the POV switch with ****

Laura and Lafontaine move as quickly through the lobby as they can without arousing suspicion, carefully sidestepping both CDC employees and the Corvae without making eye contact.

Neither scientist wishes to be pulled into a conversation with anyone before they can reach the relative safety of their lab.

Lafontaine is oddly pale and their eyes barely met Kirch’s as they finally stop at the two double doors which lead to their wing of the CDC.

Kirsch begins to open his mouth, confusion etched on his face, but Laura silences him with a quick shake of her head.

“Don’t ask, Kirsch.” Her voice is low and her movements mechanical as she quickly swipes her security card through the slot near the doors.

Kirch purses his lips but only nods, not bothering to wave his metal detector in front of their bodies.

He follows them through the doors and takes up post on the inside of the hallway, whispering a “Good luck” at Laura’s and Lafontaine’s retreating backs.

Both scientists remain silent until the doors of the IDP Lab slide closed behind them.

“What the hell are we going to do?” Laura’s voice is still low, but her anger is obvious in her tone and in the shaking of her hands.

Lafontaine closes their eyes tightly and lets out a sigh. “I honestly don’t know. I didn’t realize they’d be combining our servers...I don’t know how we’re supposed to hide our research if we have to use their systems for all our data storage.”

“What about J.P?” Laura asks as she walks over to her computer and rests her shaky hands on the keys. “If he can’t do anything to help protect our data then he needs to remove whatever he’s already done. There’s no need for him to get into trouble over this and if the Corvae are completely replacing our current systems, then they will most definitely notice what he’s done.”

“I know,” Laf agrees, coming to stand beside Laura. “I texted him right after the meeting and he’s already working to remove his protocols and caches.”

“He’s doing that remotely?”

“Yeah,” Laf says with a smile, “He’s good like that.”

Laura takes a deep breath. “Okay, well we have a little bit of time before they come in here and take everything. So I guess the question is, how much do we want to risk in order to stop them from using our research?”

“Well,” Laf mutters, “I’m not particularly inclined to go to jail...but I’ll be damned if I let them get a look at my vaccine protein structure. It would just be too easy for them to replicate the design for for more...sinister creations.”

Laura shakes her head, “I agree, but how can you stop them? That protein base is the _reason_ we’re even in this lab at all. We can’t exactly hide it when everyone knows that’s what we’ve been working on.”

Laf stares at their own computer for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before their hands begin to fly over the keyboard.

“Maybe we can’t hide the fact that I have a protein base...but....we might be able to...if I still even have it, that is...yes!”

Lafontaine looks up at Laura excitedly, a large smile on their face. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. I still have all the data on my original base structure, right? It’s brilliant of course, but ultimately useless. It can’t bind correctly with the proper epitopes and so can’t induce the creation of antibodies...but that means it also can’t be used as a base structure for enhanced or engineered viruses.”

Laura nods her head slowly, “Okay…”

“But you see, it took me years to figure that out and to figure out why and come up with a better base structure… the one we’re using now. So if I remove all the data concerning our current base structure - I’ve got backups of all my data at home anyway- then I think we can trick the Corvae into thinking my old structure is the one we’re currently working on. They can have it, it will take those idiots ages to realize that it’s useless and even then, they won’t know how to fix it.”

Laura allows a slow smile to spread across her face. “Okay, I can be okay with this. But you’re still taking a risk, Laf. If they figure out you’re withholding data then...well I’m not sure what will happen, but it probably won’t be pleasant.”

Lafontaine just shrugs. “It will be worth it. I got into this game to cure diseases, not to help make them.”

“I know,” Laura says, quietly, “Me too.”

Laf smiles a small smile and pulls out a flash drive. “I’ve got everything we’ve been working on at home, except for the data on z205 and the results from yesterday’s experiments. I’ll go into the S.L. and get everything I can off the interior hard-drives. Will you start getting rid of any of the physical copies of our data? I’ll get J.P. to start wiping any data on the current structure and I’m pretty sure he can time-stamp my old research to make it look current.”

Laura looks over at the boxes of hard copy near the filling cabinets - neither scientist had yet felt the need to actually file anything away - and nods her head. “Yeah, I’ll get rid of basically everything and just say we switched to digital storage only. We can say we’re trying to be environmentally conscious or something.”

Laf lets out a laugh. “We _are_ environmentally conscious, but yes, let’s do that. I’m not sure when they’re going to start their system overhaul so let’s move as quickly as we can. If we have time we should maybe try to actually do some real work - we still need to take a look at the results from yesterday and examine Larry before we destroy the remains.”

"Yeah, if we have time,” Laura mutters absentmindedly. She’s already grabbed the first of the boxes and is standing on her tip toes, attempting to reach the paper shredder from atop the filling cabinet. “But if they come sooner rather than later, just destroy everything. We can replicate the experiment again in a few weeks, if need be.”

“Agreed,” Laf says. They finish pulling on their hazmat suit before handing Laura an earpiece.

“Warn me if they come before I’m done in there.” Lafontaine’s voice is fuzzy in Laura’s ear, but still clear enough to be understood. She nods her head and flashes Laf a thumbs up.

Laura sits so that she’s facing the exit of the lab, looking up every few moments to glance through the door’s glass paneling. There’s been no sign of any Corvae yet, but Laura’s heart skips a beat every time she shreds another paper. What they’re doing...it’s the _right_ thing to do, but it might also, _maybe_ , be a little illegal. These papers and the data stored on their computers is Laura’s and Lafontaine’s research, but it still technically belongs to the CDC.

And they were very purposefully destroying it.

_They aren’t giving us a choice!_ Laura shakes her head, before taking a deep breath and feeding another paper into the shredder. Watching as it’s torn into unrecognizable pieces gives her a small sense of satisfaction.

 She’s so very angry. She doesn’t understand how an organization like the CDC can so easily give in to the demands of military contractors. She came to work here because the CDC was supposed to have a sense of global responsibility and ethical accountability. She wanted to help rid the world of disease, and the CDC seemed the perfect place to do that. But now?

Now her employer was demanding that she share research with a company known for crafting biological weapons. _It doesn’t make sense at all._

Laura lets out another deep breath before grabbing a second box of paper to shred.

And then of course there was the shock of seeing that mysterious woman, Carmilla, at the meeting. On the scale of things Laura ought to be worried about, she knows finding out Carmilla is a Corvae employee really shouldn’t even register...but it feels like a blow nonetheless.

Because there’s no other reason for her to have been at the meeting. Laura is familiar with almost every single CDC worker, and if she had seen Carmilla before last night, she definitely would have remembered. She _must_ be here for this semi-hostile take over then, to help the Corvae steall research with minimum disruption.

For a moment Laura begins to entertain the idea that perhaps Carmilla was only at Jose’s to eavesdrop on the CDC workers, but Lafontaine’s voice in her ear interrupts her thoughts.

“Uh Laura?” Laf’s voice is still fuzzy and is filled with obvious bewilderment.

Laura turns around towards her computer and hits the mic which connects to speakers in the secure lab.

“What’s up Laf?”

“I thought you said that Larry died yesterday during the z205 trial?”

Laura furrows her brow and says slowly, “He did. Approximately 65 minutes after infection. You put his body in a sealed bio material container, remember?”

“Laura...he doesn’t look dead to me.”

“What the hell are you talking about Laf?”

There’s a pause and Laura begins to stand up, shredder forgotten.

“Just...just get in here Laura, as quickly as you can please.”

“I’ll be right there!” It takes Laura only a few minutes to suit up - she’s actually thankful for all those extra hours in the S.L. - and she all but runs through the decontamination zone, into the inner lab.

Lafontaine is sitting at the center table, staring into a specimen jar while their hands move quickly over their keyboard.

“What’s going on Laf?” Laura asks as she comes to stand behind Lafontaine.

“I’m...I’m honestly not sure,” They say, still staring at the jar. Inside is a white rat, covered in blood, and scratching furiously at the side of the container.

“Is that…” Laura begins, leaning in to take a closer look.

“Larry? Yes.” Lafontaine takes a deep breath.

“How?” Laura asks, looking over Laf’s shoulder at the data on their screen.

“I’m not sure. He was...by all accounts he was dead yesterday. I mean, I moved him into a bio-haz container myself. But when I came in here, he seemed to be breathing. It looked like the container had cracked, which I guess is how he didn’t suffocate. But I put him in the cages just for a minute, so I could pull up the data you’d stored yesterday and…” Laf pauses again, looking with transfixed horror at Larry.

“And what, Laf?”

“And he...broke out, sort of.” Lafontaine’s voice is a mixture of horror and wonder.  “He broke into the nearest neighboring cage and he...he _cannibalized_ two other rats before I could separate him out.”

“He did _what_?” Laura can’t help but glance over at the specimen containment area. The plexiglass separating two of the cages is cracked and burrowed through. There’s a sickening splattering of blood and tissue smeared across the walls of the second cage.

“He torn them apart Laura.”

Laura looks back down at Larry, still fighting to be released from the glass jar. “That blood, that isn’t his from yesterday, is it?”

“Nope, it’s Paul’s and Apollo’s.”

“Jesus Christ, Laf. What the actual fuck was in z205? We weren’t working with a mutated rabies virus right?”

Lafontaine shakes their head. “No, I generally don’t use rabies for any of my research, it causes too much aggression and is too easily transmutable.”

“Okay,” Laura says, still staring at Larry. “Then what the hell could cause that type of reaction? Not to even mention the fact that Larry was very much dead last night.”

Lafontaine looks up from Larry, meeting Laura’s gaze with wide eyes. “I altered the protein base just a little, replicating not just the most common epitopes, but also the surface protein of the mutated virus we’ve been working with. It just...all the other vaccines weren’t working fast enough to initiate antibody creation before the virus killed the host and the damn analogues weren’t halting viral gene replication fast enough. We’ve been working with these fast acting, highly adaptable retroviruses and I just wanted to give the z205 vaccine a fighting chance.”

“So,” Laura states, her voice a few octaves higher than normal. “You what? Replicated unstable surface proteins so our vaccine could attach and penetrate the host cells itself and begin replication? But replication of what? Just of the nucleoside analogues? The attenuated form of the virus should be able to replicate fine by itself.”

“Yes,” Lafontaine answers slowly, “But by default the weakened viral RNA would also be replicated along with the analogues. But that’s okay! Or it should be. The larger quantity of weakened RNA, the faster the system can recognize the antigen and produce antibodies. Or at least, in theory.”

“Yes,” Laura agrees, feeling slightly dizzy, “But we are attempting to create live vaccines for highly mutated and adaptable strains of aggressive viruses. Highly adaptable strains, Laf. With a very high likelihood of mutating within the host. That is why we use less specific epitopes. Because we are using a very virus like structure, containing live viral material, along with the basic analogues and immune boosters, to promote fast immunization - but the virus could also mutate even in its weakened state. By giving it a strengthened protein structure with which to replicate….Jesus, do you think the _vaccine_ is responsible for this?”

By the end of her speech Laura is breathing hard and she sits rather heavily on the stool next to Laf.

“Um,” Laf says with a sheepish smile. “I don’t know. Larry’s alive right? So obviously the vaccine worked, sort of. He’s just…”

“We need to take blood samples, right now.” Laura’s voice still sounds high pitched to her own ears but she quickly moves to a nearby set of drawers, searching for a syringe and tubes.

“We should probably incapacitate Larry first. He seems a bit...bitey.”

Laura can’t help the giggle that escapes her mouth. The whole situation is ridiculous. They ought to be hiding their research and destroying evidence so that the Corvae can’t use their work to design weaponized viruses...instead Lafontaine might have accidentally created one themselves.

“Okay,” Laura says, shaking off her laughter,“how exactly do you want to incapacitate him?”

“A general anaesthesia should do the trick,” Lafontaine answers, holding up their own syringe.

Laura moves to open the specimen jar, waiting for a ready signal from Laf before slowly twisting the top off.

Larry’s response is immediate, faster than Laura thought possible, and before Lafontaine can inject him with their syringe he has knocked over the jar and leap off the table, moving with fury around the room.

“Shit!” Lafontaine leaps up from their stool and races after the rat, attempting to corner him. Laura is quickly on her own feet, following Lafontaine.

They both chase after the rat, knocking over a stool and a number of other objects in the process.

“Damn, that bugger is fast! Laf, herd him towards the front and I’ll corner him!”

“Take the syringe!” Lafontaine quickly transfers the anesthesia to Laura before clapping their hands and attempting to herd Larry towards the front of the lab.

Laura notices the stranger standing in the doorway of the lab before Lafontaine does. “What the hell? How did you get in here?” In the confusion of the moment she’s forgotten that only Lafontaine can hear her.

“Who are you talking...who the heck is that?” Lafontaine looks up from the floor to see a stranger standing in the front of the lab, without any protective gear and looking rather bewildered.

“Nevermind who!” Laura almost shouts, “Larry’s heading straight for her!” Both scientist wave frantically at the stranger, attempting to get her to notice the small animal scurrying in her direction.

With a sense of dread, Laura finally remembers to turn her suit’s exterior speaker on. “Stop him! Stop Larry! Get the rat, get the rat! But don't touch him!”

She stares in horror as Carmilla - the stranger  from the beach - swopes down quickly and places both hands over the rat.

_She’s touched him, oh dear god, she’s touching him._

Carmilla looks up in annoyance, “Well don’t just stand there dimwits, grab a jar or something!”

Laura quickly snaps back into action, grabbing the specimen jar off the table and rushing forward to remove the rat from Carmilla’s enclosed hands.

She feels a rush of relief when she closes the lid on the frantic rat and stands up quickly, handing the jar to Lafontaine.

Carmilla hisses in pain, pulling her hand up to her mouth. “Ouch! That motherfucker just bit me!”

Laura feels like the world is moving in slow motion as she watches Carmilla put her finger in her mouth. Her stomach drops and she swallows quickly, attempting to process what she’s witnessed. _What the hell is she thinking?_

Carmilla seems to realize quickly what she’s done and yanks her hand away from her mouth, staring at it in mild horror. “Oh god, that rat didn’t have like the black plague or something, right?”

Laura can’t seem to find her voice and can only watch as Carmilla’s face drains of color.

“Uh, not quite,” Lafontaine’s voice is shaky in Laura’s ears. “I’m not sure _what_ Larry is infected with.”

Carmilla seems to sway a bit where she’s standing and says in a light voice, “Oh, well that’s comforting.” Small traces of blood has begun to drip from her nose and mouth.

Laura can’t help the gasp that escapes her lips as blood also begins to run from Carmilla’s ears and eyes. Carmilla slowly moves her hand to her face, wiping at the liquid, smearing her face with red as she does. She pulls her hand away and stares down at it in shock before looking up at Laura.

The fear and confusion in her eyes is enough to move Laura into action and she steps forward just in time to catch Carmilla as she falls forward.

“Lafontaine!” Laura all but yells as she slowly lowers Carmilla, now unconscious, to the ground. “Grab a stretcher! And an IV drip!”

The next few minutes are frantic as Laura and Lafontaine attempt move Carmilla’s limp form onto a stretcher and hook her up to an IV and heart monitor. Laura can see more than feel her hands shaking as she carefully wipes the blood from Carmilla’s face. Her heart rate has dropped significantly, along with her temperature.

“Laura,” Lafontaine says softly, “We need to initiate quarantine procedures.”

Laura just nods her head, not taking her hands off the prone figure in front of her.

_What was she thinking coming in here without protective gear? How did she even get past security?_

Lafontaine begins to walk towards the front of the lab, towards the bright red button enclosed in glass, but they stop short. “Do you know her Laura?”

Laura doesn’t answer for a moment, she can’t. “Um,” she breathes shakily, “Not really...do you remember that woman I told you about? The one I met on the beach?”

Lafontaine just nods.

“This is her. I saw her during the meeting. I think she must be Corvae.”

Lafontaine nods again, “Even if she is Corvae, we won’t let her die Laura.”

“No, we won’t.” Laura’s voice is soft but determined and she gently places her gloved hand over Carmilla’s. She closes her eyes for the briefest moment as Lafontaine presses down on the large red button they never thought they’d have to use. A loud, unfamiliar siren immediately fills the lab and yellow lights begin to flash around the edges of the room.

_This is going to change everything._

////

 

“It’s been 12 hours since we’ve administered the last dose and nothing’s changed!” Laura’s voice is shrill and noticeably cracks, betraying her exhaustion and frustration. “Why hasn’t the vaccine worked properly?”

She’s sitting, slumped in a chair in the ‘infection free’ research section of her lab. The sirens have long been turned off and the lights are no longer flashing, but the three security officers standing directly outside of the IDP lab are a testament to the chaos which has marked the last 24 hours at the CDC facility.

“She’s not dead,” Lafontaine says, sipping slowly from their coffee. Their hair is an utter mess, sticking up at all angles, and their tie hangs loosely from their neck. “If the vaccine hadn’t worked at at least somewhat properly then the initial virus would have killed her already.”

“Then what is wrong with her?” Laura steals a glance through the glass wall separating them from the S.L. and her heart constricts tightly at the sight of Carmilla, pale and deathly still, attached to numerous tubes and wires.

Lafontaine sighs. “I’m not sure, exactly. Her heart rate and temperature are so low, by all accounts she ought to be dead. But she’s not. And she’s not reacting properly to any fluids or boosters I give her. Her blood work...it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. The virus is gone, but the vaccine has bonded with and actually altered the basic structure of her cellular DNA. There’s traces of it everywhere.”

“Well, that would be the fault of the surface proteins you added to the vaccine base,” Laura says dryly. “But she’s…”

“She’s dying,” Lafontaine finishes. “And I don’t know how to stop it.”

Laura lets out a long sigh. Neither of them have slept since Carmilla was bitten - _infected_ \- almost exactly 24 hours ago. Lafontaine has spent most of the time in the secure lab, running tests and doing everything in their power to keep Carmilla alive, including injecting her with a slightly strengthened z205 vaccine, now dubbed VZ-205.

For her part, Laura has been dealing with the red tape that comes along with the accidental exposure of an unstable, mutated disease to a civilian. To her surprise that task also included fighting off Lilita Morgan, the Corvae Director of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, and coincidentally also Carmilla’s _mother_ , who was hell bent on transferring Carmilla to Corvae custody. According to Lilita, Carmilla was Corvae personnel and thus, ought to be entrusted to Corvae care only.

That woman was vicious as well as effective. When the decision had finally arrived from Washington to keep Carmilla in CDC custody Laura was actually surprised that Lilita hadn’t attempted to take her daughter back by force.

Laura didn’t think she was the only person who guessed that Lilita might be capable of such a thing - hence the added security around the IDP Lab.

She takes a long drink from her own coffee, pushing away thoughts of Lilita Morgan. “Is there anything else we can do? There has to be _something_.”

Lafontaine looks at their drink thoughtfully. “There was something I wanted to try...it’s a little unorthodox, but what else do we have to lose?”

Laura recognizes the hidden meaning behind Laf’s statement. When they’d sounded the alarm to notify the rest of the building of Carmilla’s infection, they had also lost the chance to hide their research. They may have been able to keep Carmilla in their custody, but they had been forced to give up access to their latest research in the process.

It was it an infuriating loss.

“Whatever it is, it’s worth a shot.” Laura quickly drains the rest of her coffee and stands, meaning to make her way towards the bio-haz suits hanging up near the entrance to the secure lab. Instead she sways, slamming her hands down on her desk to keep herself from falling.

“Woah, Laura.” Lafontaine is already out of their chair, holding on to Laura’s arm.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Her voice sounds weak, even to her own ears, and her vision is blurring dangerously.

“No, you’re not,” Lafontaine says firmly. “You’ve been awake for almost 30 hours and haven’t consumed anything but coffee and sugar, you need rest.”

Laura begins to mumble in protest, but Laf cuts her off. “No, I can run the tests and perform the trials by myself. In your state, you’ll honestly just get in my way.”

“Fine,” Laura mutters and she allows Lafontaine to direct her towards the cot in the only dark corner of the lab. She can feel the exhaustion fighting to take over her body as she lays her head against the lumpy pillow, but she doesn’t want to close her eyes. She wants to help. The idea of her dozing off only to wake and find that Carmilla has died is…

Laura shudders. It’s absolutely terrifying.

But her body is exhausted and it’s only a matter of minutes before her eyes close and she drifts into a fitful sleep.

 

****

The first thing Carmilla notices is the smell. It’s rusty and metallic; much like copper, but sweeter somehow. Her mouth is impossibly dry and her body aches in places she’s never even felt before.

And it’s so _bright_.

Even with her eyes closed she can feel the fluorescent lights beating down on her skin, drying her out and making her head pound terribly.

She wants to move but she feels weighed down, her arms heavy with tubes and wires. _Where am I?_

“Subject has displayed marginal improvement in condition after administration of hemoglobin supplement.”

_Who the hell?_ Carmilla doesn’t recognize the voice but it’s grating against her ears. It sounds as if they’re shouting.

“Can…” Carmilla starts to speak, but her voice is scratchy and weak from disuse. She clears her throat and tries again, still keeping her eyes closed. “Can you please, _for the love of god_ , turn down the lights and stop shouting?”

"Carmilla?! Oh my god, can you hear me? Can you move?”

Carmilla shuts her eyes tighter and groans, “The lights please? And stop shouting at me.”

“Oh, um, I’m not really shouting but okay. Just hold on a minute.”

Carmilla hears someone - presumably the shouter - moving about the room and then the lights are blissfully dimmed. She cautiously opens one eye, peering at her unfamiliar surroundings. The room is still bright and very sterile looking, with an odd assortment of lab equipment and monitors.

“Where...am I, exactly?”

“You’re in the S.L. of the IDP lab at the Puerto Rico CDC headquarters...do you not remember anything?”

Carmilla glances up and nearly starts. The person addressing her is covered head to foot in a bright white and rather large suit, their voice echoing out of speakers situated on their helmet. Carmilla can just make out a shock of red hair beneath the hood.

“Uh,” she says, trying to recall her most recent memory. She was in Puerto Rico...with her mother...but she was leaving, and then she was here, looking for Laura...and there was a rat, and then she was falling. She was _dying_.

She takes in the tubes and wires connected to her body with a new appreciation. She had definitely felt like she was dying.

“Um, I remember that stupid animal, _Larry_? He bit me and, god, I was bleeding all over, and then I fell. That’s...that’s pretty much the last thing I can remember.” She doesn’t mention that she’d been trying to walk towards Laura.

“Okay,” the redhead mutters. They take a step closer to her, poking at the monitor attached to Carmilla’s arms and chest. “This is amazing…”

“What’s amazing?” Carmilla tries to twist her head to look at the monitors as well, but her body still feels impossibly heavy.

“It’s just...you were exposed to something very lethal and you were dying and the vaccine wasn’t working properly and then I gave you this...supplement I sort of cooked up and your vitals are...well they’re still not where they should be at all, but here you are talking and conscious and seemingly not dying.”

“Okay, whoa. You can’t just use phrases like ‘ _seemingly not dying_ ’ without explaining yourself. Can you like, look at me for a second gingersnap?”

“What? Oh, sorry.” The doctor looks away from the screen quickly and stares intently at Carmilla’s face. “I’m Dr. Lafontaine by the way, I guess I should have said that earlier. Laura is usually the one to deal...she’s just better with human patients.”

“Uh...okay?” Carmilla can feel annoyance rising up in her chest. _This is the person responsible for saving my life? It’s a miracle I’m still alive._ “Is...is Laura still around?” She bites back a grimace at how hopeful her voice sounds.

“Oh yes,” Lafontaine answers. “She’s been here since you were infected, but she’s asleep now. Poor girl nearly passed out from exhaustion.”

Carmilla frowns, the idea of the little cupcake passing out was...unappealing.

Lafontaine reaches over as if to touch Carmilla’s wrist, but she pulls her hand away reflexively. She was not a touching strangers sort of person.

“Sorry,” Lafontaine says quickly, pulling their own hand back. “I just wanted to check your pulse for myself.”

“How about you tell me exactly what’s been going on since little Larry tried to snack on me first? And can I get something to drink, too? My mouth feels like a dust bowl.”

“Sure,” Lafontaine says with a smile. They move as fast as they can in their suit towards the back - front? - of the lab and pull two metal containers from a small refrigerator.

Lafontaine pauses for a moment in front of Carmilla, seemingly debating which container to hand her, finally they reach out their left hand. “Let’s try water first.”

“Gee, what a genius idea.” Carmilla rolls her eyes as she takes a long drink. She holds the water in her mouth for a moment, it tastes rancid, before she spits it out on the front of her gown. “What the hell kind of water is that?”

“It’s just water,” Lafontaine shrugs, “But let’s try this instead.”

Carmilla slowly takes the bottle from the scientist’s hand, her mistrust evident on her face. “And what exactly is this?”

“It’s a supplement of sorts, just try it.”

Carmilla sniffs the top of the bottle cautiously. It smells better than the water, sweet but also metallic. She takes a slow sip and can’t help the appreciative groan that leaves her mouth. _It tastes amazing_. She continues to sip from the bottle as she watches Lafontaine move towards the computer and start typing. With each pull she takes, she feels the heaviness of her limbs lift further and the pounding of her head diminish.

“Hey,” She says loudly, “You still haven’t told me...well anything. Am I cured now, or what?”

“I’m...I’m not sure.” Lafontaine says over their shoulder. “I need to run a blood test to determine...well anything. But you’re doing remarkably better than you were just 20 minutes ago. Is it okay if I come take some blood?”

Carmilla shrugs. “If it means I can get out of here, then yeah, sure. But you need to explain what’s happened since...well since I fainted.”

Lafontaine smiles as they reach for a few syringes and tubes. “Sure thing.”

Carmilla spends the next few minutes trying to ignore the sight of blood being pulled from her arm as she listen’s to Lafontaine recall the last 20 odd hours of her life. She has to admit, Lafontaine can definitely tell a good story.

“So let me get this straight,” she says, drinking the last few sips of her supplement. Lafontaine has finished drawing blood and is busy loading in into a large, spaceship looking device. “I was infected by a rat that had already died from a mutated form of some virus, which you won’t tell me the name of, and then I was dying and my mother was attempting to basically steal my body, and you gave me a totally untested, super vaccine and now I’m alive but my vitals are all wonky? Did I get that right, Dr. Frankenstein?”

Lafontaine chuckles as they turn their machine on. “You forgot the part where the vaccine worked but you were still dying, so I created a completely amazing hemoglobin supplement based on my observations of your blood interacting with uninfected blood, and _that_ is why you’re now conscious.”

“I’m don’t get the thing about the supplement,” Carmilla states, swinging her legs off the gurney, if she’d been laying there for over a day she probably ought to get up and move around. “Isn’t hemoglobin something that’s in blood? How would that help me?”

“Well that’s what’s interesting...whoa! Hey, sit back down!”

Carmilla pauses in the middle of pulling the wires off her chest. “What? I feel fine and I’m dying to stretch my legs.”

“Oh no you don’t.” Lafontaine is up in a flash and motioning for Carmilla to return to her spot on the bed. “You don’t get to move around until your blood work comes back, you could still be very contagious.”

“Fine, fine,” Carmilla grumbles and makes a show of sitting back down.

There’s a slight rushing sound and a few rapid beeps and suddenly the door at the front of the room is sliding open. The figure is clad in a body suit, just like Lafontaine, but Carmilla recognizes Laura’s face under the mask. Her stomach drops quite suddenly and she feels hyper aware of the thin gown she’s wearing.

Laura stops midway into the room, her eyes darting quickly between Lafontaine and Carmilla.

“What...how?” With a quick shake of her head she’s rushing to the edge of Carmilla’s bed. Her hands flutter over Carmilla’s monitor and then over her IV. She’s letting loose a stream of questions directed at both Lafontaine and Carmilla. “When did she wake up? How are you feeling? What did you give her? Did you take blood yet? Why are her vitals all over the place?”

“Whoa, cupcake slow down. One question at a time please.” She smirks slightly as Laura’s hand comes to rest on her own.

“I’m sorry, it’s just,” Laura takes a deep breath, “It’s just that the last time I was in here you were...well dying. Now you look...a lot better. You’re still so pale though, and cold. Laf, why is she so pale and why is her baseline temperature so low?”

Laura’s eyes have snapped back to the monitors and Carmilla feels a slight pang of disappointment as she pulls her hand away in the process.

“I’m not really sure,” Lafontaine answers, coming to stand next to Laura. “Her vitals are almost the same as before I gave her a supplement, but now she’s conscious and talking. Her cells are no longer undergoing apoptosis but her temperature is still so low that her body should be entering hypothermic shock and look at how low her heart rate is…”

“Uh, hello?” Carmilla says sharply, waving a hand in front of the monitor. “I’m still sitting right here. Mind not talking about me as if I’m comatose?”

“Oh, um yeah sorry.” Laura’s eyes don’t leave the monitor and she turns back to Lafontaine. “But you _did_ take a blood sample right?”

Carmilla huffs and rolls her eyes. She didn’t particularly like being treated like a science experiment.

“Yes,” Lafontaine answers. “The preliminary results should be finished...yep, right about now.”

The spaceship machine suddenly stops whirring and lets out a series of beeps.

“Let’s take a look then.” Laura begins moving towards the center of the room, but stops for a moment, turning back to Carmilla. “Do you need anything? Are feeling faint or nauseous? Please inform us if you feel ill in any way.”

“I’m fine, creampuff. But I am beginning to feel overwhelmingly bored.” It’s true, Carmilla feels fine, more than fine even. There’s still an old metallic scent to the room but she feels more energized than she has in days. “When can I leave?”

Laura shakes her head in astonishment. “Um, probably not for a while yet. You did expose yourself to a completely unstable and _deadly_ virus no more than 26 hours ago. It’s going to take days, if not longer, to determine if you’re healthy enough to leave.”

Laura turns back around and begins moving about the lab, placing small droplets of blood on slides and examining vials of blood over Lafontaines shoulder.

Carmilla just stares at Lauras fast paced motions. _She exposed herself?_ “Excuse me,” she hisses, “But I’m not the idiot who let an infected rat run around their lab.”

Lauras hand freezes in the middle of placing a slide under a very large, very expensive looking microscope. She looks up and her face is mask of warring emotions; bewilderment, shock, and anger all struggling for dominance.

She slowly places the slide down before turning towards Carmilla and saying hotly, “You’re the one who entered a secure section of the _Infectious Disease Lab_ without protective gear - a lab you shouldn’t have had access to in the first place, by the way - and proceeded to handle a live test subject covered in blood _after_ I explicitly told you not to and we’re the ones who are idiots? You...you’re the idiot! You nearly got yourself killed!”

By the end of her chastisement Laura is breathing rather heavily and her face is a bright shade of red. Carmilla feels as though her face ought to be red as well - the cutie did have a point - but oddly she can’t feel any blood rushing to her face. She decides that whatever is causing that is working in her favor and she shrugs noncommittally before examining her fingernails.

“I happened to have been looking for the exit and when I hear all the banging around I thought you might need help. Sorry for attempting to be a decent human being."

She doesn’t even consider admitting that she was actively looking for Laura.

“Besides,” she continues, “Why isn’t there a sign somewhere warning people not to enter without one of those oversized trash bags on?”

Laura opens and closes her mouth, but can’t seem to find the right words to express her aggravation. After a moment she takes a deep breath before saying through gritted teeth. “There is literally a sign in bright red letters right outside the door warning not to enter without a suit on. It’s in _three_ languages. I would show it to you, but you can’t leave the room because you’re probably a carrier for some horrendous, mutated virus that we have to try and neutralize.”

“Oh,” Carmilla says, a bit shocked. “Well I...I didn’t see that sign.” She bits her lip, trying to hold on to her annoyance rather than focus on the fact that the bunched up face Laura makes when she’s angry is actually sort of _cute_.

“Can we cease with the petty bickering for a moment?” Lafontaine is staring down at the vials in her hands. “And focus on whatever the hell is happening with these blood cells?”

Laura gives Carmilla one last scorching look before turning back around to examine Carmilla’s test results.

“What in the name of…” Laura pulls the desktop monitor closer to her face, clicking rapidly at the keys.

“I know right?” Lafontaines face is a mixture of excitement and disbelief. “It’s impossible.”

Carmilla sighs again and puts the bright yellow pillow - an odd color for a research lab - over her face. She has a sinking feeling she’s going to get to test exactly how much overexcited and easily distracted doctor she can handle over the next few hours, or days. On the bright side, she’s forcibly separated from her mother and stuck in a room with a rather adorable tiny scientist.

She quickly decides that she’s been in worse situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this chapter this evening, but I am v distracted so if you see any glaring issues, please please please tell/yell at me about them.
> 
> Happy Tuesgay!


	5. Intercession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hollistein af chapter featuring: sneaky rule-breaking Laura and sarcastic but actually sappy Carmilla.  
> (Carmilla is still stoic and Laura is still completely incapable of handling crushes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so...about that updating twice a week thing...yeah...sorry!
> 
> In my defense I was terribly ill AND busy at work AND I was without my computer for a week, but please accept this super hollistein heavy chapter as an apology!

“If you didn’t want me to have the pillow, then why did you give it to me in the first place cupcake?”

Laura sighs, rolling her eyes at Carmilla where she lounges casually on one of the lab’s cots. She has a worn book in her lap and her dark curls are spread out on a bright yellow pillow - Laura’s pillow.

She comes to stand in front of Carmilla, arms crossed tightly in front of her chest. “I didn’t give it to you to keep permanently, I thought that would be obvious.  We don’t have human patients...well not usually...and you were all sick and dying and the only one around was mine so _of course_ I gave it to you. I’m not heartless, you know. But it’s been a week and we now have plenty of pillows, so I would appreciate if you would stop stealing mine!”

Carmilla scoffs and purposefully keeps her eyes on the book in front of her. “Why would you want it back anyway? I’ve probably contaminated it with my _terribly_ diseased body.” Carmilla’s tone is casual, almost bored, but after a week in close quarters together Laura can detect the frustration lurking behind her words.

Her anger at the theft of her pillow quickly dissipates and Laura hesitates for a moment, struggling with her desire to soothe Carmilla’s frustrations while still maintaining some sort of professional distance. Then again, the chance for any sort of _distance_ had gone out the window days ago.

She takes a deep breath before stepping forward, pausing a few inches away from Carmilla’s cot. “Look, you’re…you’re not terribly diseased Carm, you’re just...changed and we’re still working on figuring out if those changes are reversible. And it’s not like you’re _that_ contagious. You’ve been out of quarantine for three days now so obviously you’re not going to easily infect anyone.” Laura uncrosses her arms just long enough to lightly bump a fist against Carmilla’s knee. “Really, as long as you can refrain from bleeding into someone else’s open wound or eye or something, you’re practically safe.”

Carmilla’s eyes find Laura’s over the top of her book, and her voice is almost soft. “Then why am I still here? Stuck in this tiny lab with an even tinier, _annoying_ scientist?”

Laura’s eye flit down to her toes for a second, the tips of her ears burning. The possibility of Carmilla actually finding her genuinely annoying was surprisingly disappointing.

After a moment she forces herself to look back up and her eyes find Carmilla’s almost instantly. Her voice is soft when she speaks, and she hopes her tone conveys her own regret over the situation better than her words can. “You know why you’re here Carm. You are still contagious, if only just, and until we figure out exactly what’s happened to you we can’t risk you infecting anyone else.”

“Oh, and you and gingersnap don’t count? You’re not worried about getting infected by me?”

Laura blows out a breath, thankful when Carmilla finally looks away in order to stare at the ceiling above her. Laura found it hard to concentrate on forming words with Carmilla’s gaze on her face, always darting between Laura's eyes and her mouth.

“Uh, I’ve already told you Carm, infection is very unlikely and anyway, we won’t keep you in isolation just to spare us that small risk. It’s part of our job. Besides, you wouldn’t rather be spending all your time locked up in the secure lab, would you?”

Carmilla rolls her eyes. “Of course not, I’m just trying to figure out why you don’t seem concerned about getting infected when I’m not even allowed down the hall or up to the roof for fresh air. But, if I am stuck in here with you and Dr. Frankenstein, then I’m keeping the pillow.”

Laura feels her jaw drop, she’d forgotten about the damn pillow, but of course Carmilla would find a way to bring the whole conversation around to work in her favor.

It wasn’t that it was some huge deal, or at least it shouldn’t be. It was just a pillow, but it was her _favorite_ pillow. The pillow her mother gave her before she left for university.

“Fine,” Laura mutters in a somewhat defeated tone. “You can use it, but we’re going to share it. And tonight is _my_ turn.”

Carmilla ignores her, looking back down at the book in her lap and causally turning the page. Laura feels her face heat up, the annoyance she’d felt earlier returning in full force. Before she can stop herself or remember her obligation to remain professional, Laura finds herself quickly lunging forward in an attempt to snatch the pillow from underneath Carmilla’s head. For a moment she thinks she’s going to be successful, but before she can move more than a few inches the pillow is gone and Carmilla is sitting up, yellow pillow suddenly beneath her legs where Laura doesn’t dare reach.

_Damn she’s fast now._

“Oh no you don’t slow poke.” Carmilla smirks and rests her head against the wall behind her. “We can take turns if you want, but I already have it so it’s mine for tonight.”

Laura sighs again and sits down on her own cot, stationed against the wall opposite of Carmilla’s bed. The ‘office’ area of the IDP lab wasn’t really meant for sleeping and the alcove barely contained enough space to fit both cots. If Laura reached her legs out she could probably rest her feet against the edge of Carmilla’s bed...not that she would try that.

“Well,” Laura mutters in a mock serious tone. “I guess you can have it tonight, but if you don’t actually share it I might just be forced to put you under when you’re not looking and steal it back.”

Carmilla just laughs, muttering something along the lines of “good luck with that” under her breath and Laura finds herself smiling too. Both of them know that Laura would never actually do such a thing and, if she’s being honest with herself, there’s probably a good chance general anesthesia wouldn’t even work on Carmilla anymore.

Lafontaine realized within the first few days that Carmilla’s body now burns through foreign substances and chemicals incredibly quickly; it would most likely take nothing less than a massively potent tranquilizer to knock her out in the event that she actually needed to be unconscious.

Of course, her body burning through substances was just one side effect of the many changes she’d experienced in the past week. Laura had not seen her sleep since she awoke from her coma nearly a week ago, and what’s more, she didn’t seem the worse for it. Not that Carmilla didn’t try to sleep - her general routine when not undergoing various tests was to laze about, reading or just lying down with her eyes closed.

Odder still was her aversion to food - she couldn’t stomach anything solid without getting sick and when Laura had attempted to provide her with nutrients via an IV, the results had been frightful - Laura thought she’d looked more healthy when she’d actually been dying then she did while hooked to that IV. The only thing she could stomach was the supplement Laf created, and despite it’s lack of nutrients, it seemed to be keeping Carmilla alive and well, for the most part. 

The rapid physical changes...transformation really…that Carmilla had experienced since her initial infection went against every scientific fact Laura knew. It begged disbelief and had left Laura doubting all the fundamental truths she’d thought to be absolute. Carmilla should be dead. Her heart was barely beating - hitting 40 bpm on a good day - her body never went above 80 degrees, and she hadn’t taken in any proper nutrients since before she was infected. 

And yet she was alive and feeling well enough to annoy the hell out of her doctors as often as possible. In fact, one could argue that she was more than simply well. Her eyesight was phenomenal, as well as her hearing, and she could move so fast now, it seemed impossible.

If Laura hadn’t witnessed her enhanced speed, sight, and smell already, she would swear it _was_ impossible. It all still seemed inconceivable to her, but she couldn’t argue with a week’s worth of test results. 

The only person who seemed to take it all in stride was Laf. While Laura found the whole situation absurd and frustrating, Lafontaine only seemed fascinated. Each time a test produced perplexing results they would only nod their head, make a note and perhaps slightly alter their supplement before thinking up more tests to run. Laura had never seen Laf more invested in their research before, and it was certainly paying off. Although they had not come up with a vaccine for infected individuals, they were finalizing a potential inoculant for individuals not yet exposed. It was excellent work, amazing really, but not particularly helpful to Carmilla. 

According to Lafontaine the VZ-205 virus wasn’t a parasitic presence in Carmilla’s body anymore. It was apart of it, changing her DNA so profoundly that there was just no way to eradicate the infection without killing Carmilla in the process. It was like nothing either scientist had ever seen and, because Carmilla was still technically contagious, it meant that Carmilla was stuck in the lab indefinitely, or until they could come up with an actual solution. 

“Why don’t you just go home and sleep in your own bed, surely you have better pillow options there?”

Laura slowly tears her eyes away from the wall she hadn’t realized she’d been blankly staring at and looks back at Carmilla. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

Carmilla rolls her eyes, “I said, why don’t you go home and sleep in your own bed? I don’t need a 24 hour babysitter.”

“Oh,” Laura says with a shrug. “I’m not staying here to babysit you, although you probably shouldn’t be left alone incase something happens, I’ve just been...busy. You know, trying to figure out how to cure you?”

It wasn’t technically a lie. She did have a lot of work to do, and time was of the essence. But it just didn’t seem right to leave when Carmilla couldn’t. The poor girl hadn’t stepped foot outside the lab since her accidental infection and it just seemed... _unfair_ for her to be stuck in isolation when something strange and scary was happening to her. Besides, Laura wanted to be sure that the Corvae didn’t try to make a move on the lab while she or Laf were at home. They had been getting very...restless over the past few days, especially since all data sharing between the corporation and the CDC had been suspended pending investigation.

“Right,” Carmilla says with heavy sarcasm. “ _Curing_ me. And how exactly will you not sleeping help with that? All you do is toss and turn all night, creampuff.”

Laura picks a non-existent piece of lint off her jeans. “I don’t toss and turn all night,” she mutters. “It’s just difficult to sleep knowing I have so much to do.”

“Right, Okay.” Carmilla’s eyes are back on her book. “If you don’t want to tell me the truth that’s fine, I just don’t understand why anyone would willingly stay cooped up in this lab when they actually have the choice to leave. You should go, be with your friends or hang out with the redheaded amazon you seem to like so much, anything. Go, get some fresh air and actually look at the sky. Then you can come back here and tell me all about it.”

“I…” Not for the first time Laura feels at a loss for words - Carmilla often has that effect on her - and she struggles for a moment with the desire to just say what she feels rather than what she knows she ought to say as Carmilla's doctor.

“You want the truth? Well, the truth is I don’t want to leave.” When she finally responds her voice is just above a whisper and all her former pretense is gone. “Not when you’re stuck in here. It wouldn’t be...right to leave you alone.”

Carmilla’s face softens and she carefully closes her book, placing it on the bed beside her before looking up. Her voice is cautious, guarded almost, as she speaks. “That’s sweet of you Laura, but you shouldn’t have to stay here for me. I’m used to being on my own.”

She shrugs, eyes shifting from Laura’s face down to her own hands. “We shouldn’t both be denied our freedom. Besides, I was serious about having you tell me about your night, let me live vicariously through you a little." Carmilla smiles and gives Laura a playful wink, "You know, I’m pretty sure there’s supposed to be a small meteor shower tonight, if I haven’t lost all track of time while I’ve been here that is. You should go stargazing with the amazon and then you can tell me about it tomorrow.  _Not_ about you and Xenia, obviously. Just about the sky.”

“That's an...interesting idea.” Laura pauses, not sure how to tell Carmilla that she doesn't _want_ to go stargazing with Danny...that she'd rather go with someone else. 

_She's your patient Hollis, honestly. Don't be creepy._

But the look on Carmilla's face as she imagines seeing the sky for herself sets Laura's heart to hammering in her chest. An idea begins to form in her mind…a wonderful, dangerous idea that she really shouldn’t even entertain, but she's having a very hard time denying the part of her that wants to see Carmilla smile. Not her usual, guarded smile, always accompanied by a sarcastic comment or an eye roll, but an honest, genuine, happy smile that Laura hasn't had the pleasure of seeing yet, but which she is sure still exists.

 "Maybe _we_ can..." Laura stops mid-sentence, struggling to come to a decision before allowing herself to say the words aloud.

“Maybe we can what?” Carmilla’s eyes shoot up, searching Laura’s face. It’s scrunched up in that way it gets when she’s frustrated or conflicted. “Cutie,” Carmilla mutters, a warning on the tip of her tongue.

“What if you could see it...the shower? Would you like that?” Laura’s eyes are bright and her sudden excitement is evident on her face.

Carmilla just stares at her for a moment, shock and excitement causing her own, slow heartbeat to pick up speed. “Yes,” she says slowly, “Of course I would, but I don’t see how that’s possible. I’m not allowed to leave this lab and there aren't exactly many windows.”

Laura jumps up suddenly, mind resolutely decided. She quickly walks over to the closet-like cupboards near the entrance to the lab, talking over her shoulder at Carmilla as she does. “Well, like I said before, you’re not _that_ contagious. And Kirsch is working security tonight...it wouldn’t be that hard to sneak...and we wouldn’t run into anyone, so you wouldn’t pose a threat...and, if we just steal away from a few moments...yeah, we can do this.”

Laura is hastily rummaging through the closet, pulling out items, while Carmilla cautiously walks up behind her. “Slow down cupcake, what are you trying to say?”

Laura spins around, nearly bumping into Carmilla as she does, and inhales sharply. She hadn’t noticed how close Carmilla now is, standing less than a foot away. She takes a careful step back, uncomfortably aware of how her body had responded to the nearness. She shoves a pristine lab coat into Carmilla’s hands and pulls out another for herself.

“I’m saying that you’re going outside. Or rather, I’m sneaking you up to the roof.”

Carmilla still looks doubtful, but she’s pulling on the lab coat even as she speaks. “But, can’t you get into trouble for that? Like the ‘fired’ sort of trouble?”

Laura can’t help herself, she smiles wide at the image of Carmilla in the lab coat. She looks out of place in it, her dark t-shirt clashing with the stiff white material, but it’s a very attractive look, regardless. The collar is sticking up at an odd angle and Laura reflectively reaches out to smooth it down. Her hand lingers for a moment on Carmilla’s shoulder as she speaks. “Only if you try to run off or infect someone so, just don’t do those things okay?”

Carmilla doesn’t answer for a moment, something like indecision clear on her face, then suddenly she smiles a breathtaking, mischievous smile. “I think I can manage that.”

 

***

 

Sneaking out of the lab turns out to be a lot more fun than Laura had anticipated. After texting Kirsch and asking for his help - he was all too happy to be apart of the temporary breakout - and calling J.P. to see if he could manage to not record the hallway, stairwell, and roof surveillance footage for a few hours - he was surprisingly game too - all Laura and Carmilla had to do was manage to not run into anyone else on their journey to the staircase. 

Given that it was nearly midnight already, there really wasn’t much of a chance of an accidental encounter, but Laura still insisted on sneaking, very ninja like, through the empty halls.

“Really cupcake? I don’t think a _roll_ is necessary.” 

Laura leaps up from the ground, a mock serious expression on her face. “These are dangerous times Carmilla, and we’re breaking a lot of rules.” Her serious expression quickly turns into a smile as she catches sight of Carmilla’s smirk and raised eyebrows. “Besides, I’ve sort of always wanted to do that.”

Carmilla just rolls her eyes and continues to casually stroll past Laura down the hall. “You know, it’s going to be hard for me to take you seriously as a scientist after I’ve seen you go all Laura Croft in your office building.”

Laura snorts, but manages to cough over her laughter as she catches up with Carmilla. “I am a very serious, very professional doctor Ms. Karnstein, regardless of whether or not I have excellent tomb raider skills.”

This time Carmilla laughs, and the sound of it sends a thrill through Laura’s body. _This could be dangerous._  

_Could be? It already is._

She was breaking all sorts of rules tonight, leaving behind her professional demeanor and sneaking an infected patient out of the building, but she didn’t have it in her to regret anything, at least not yet. Carmilla looked more animated and happy just walking down the halls than she had in the entire time Laura knew her. And as for Laura, well she hadn’t felt this alive since she’d arrived in Puerto Rico.

That probably should be a cause for concern. That feeling of lightness she’d been getting in the evenings around Carmilla...normally she wouldn’t mind, but Carmilla was her patient and there were certain ethical standards she refused to ignore.

She laughs to herself as she opens the stairwell door, sneaking a glance up and down to check for others.

“What are you laughing at Ms. Hollis?” Carmilla pushes the door open further, brushing past Laura as she heads for the stairs.

_Oh nothing, just my supposed respect for ethical standards._

“Uh, nothing. Just laughing at the situation. I never thought I’d be breaking about a dozen laws and sneaking a...patient out of a CDC building.”

Carmilla turns slightly as she climbs the stairs and gives Laura a wink. “Well this was your idea cutie, so if we get caught I am completely blaming you.”

Laura huffs, but she’s smiling. “I guess that’s what I get for trying to do something nice.

They’ve reached the top of the staircase - Laura’s thankful her lab is only one level below the roof - and Carmilla leans against the door for a moment, looking suddenly nervous. “Haven’t you figured out yet that doing nice things for people generally only leads to bad things for you?”

Laura pauses, confused by Carmilla’s sudden change in demeanor. “I don’t think that’s true Carmilla. Maybe sometimes, yeah, but it’s usually worth it.”

Carmilla shakes her head slightly and her smile returns. “Of course you would think that. You’re a doctor, your job basically consist of you trying to do nice things for people all the time.” She begins to turn around, hand already on the doornob, but she pauses. “Thank you though, for being a nice person and doing this. I...it means a lot.”

Laura just smiles and nods, not trusting herself with words. It wouldn’t do to say any of the thoughts running through her head.

With one last deep breath Carmilla opens the door and steps through slowly. The air outside is balmy and salty, the sky black overhead but fringed with blue where the lights of the city bleed into the horizon.

Laura takes her own deep breath, relishing the way her lungs seem to fill up fully for the first time in days. She pauses in the doorway, removing her shoe and wedging it between the frame and the door before following Carmilla over to the edge of the building. She’s leaning against the railing of the roof, the city spread out in front of her, but her face is upturned, seeking out the evening’s stars. There aren’t as many visible as she would have liked due to the light from the city, but it was more than enough.

Laura thinks she ought to look at the sky too, but she can’t tear her eyes away from Carmilla. She looks so much like she did the first night they met - dark and beautiful and somehow wild - but her smile is bright now, genuine, and there is no trace of her usual mistrust.

Laura feels that familiar lightness creep into her limbs, catching her breath and smoothing away her own worries. Her hands are tingling, itching to reach out and touch…

Laura vigorously shakes her head and moves to sit down, a safe distance away from where Carmilla stands. She rests her head against the smooth metal behind her, taking in a deep breath as she looks up at the stars and tries to focus on the tiny pinpoints. Her heart is beating erratically and she forces herself to remove the image of Carmilla standing in the moonlight from her mind. She can’t let herself get carried away, not here and not with _her_.

_Don’t do something stupid, don’t do something stupid. Don’t. Be. Stupid._

After a minute or two her head feels clearer and she allows her eyes to find Carmilla. She’s sitting now too, leaning against the same railing as Laura a few feet away.

“I think I got the night wrong,” she says, without taking her eyes off the sky.

Laura furrows her brow in confusion. “What?”

Carmilla tears her eyes away from the sky for a moment to roll her eyes at Laura. “The shower, remember? I think I must have gotten the night wrong.”

“Oh,” Laura mutters, looking back up, “How do you know? We haven’t been up here that long.”

“Well it’s about 12:30, right? If I remember the article correctly, the shower was supposed to start just before midnight and last until 1:30, but I haven’t seen a thing.”

Laura looks down at her watch. “It’s only fifteen after midnight. Today’s the...24th of May. Was that the night it was supposed to happen?”

Carmilla shrugs once before looking over. “You know, I honestly can’t remember.”

She’s silent for a moment, rubbing her palms against her thighs. “This...this is still really nice though. I’ve really missed being outside.”

“Yeah,” Laura replies, determinedly keeping her eyes on the stars above her. “It is nice.”

They are quiet for a long while, and the silence stretches out between them comfortably, broken only by the sporadic sounds of the city.

Laura can feel tiredness creeping over her limbs after about an hour, the past few sleepless nights causing her to yawn and close her eyes. The warmth of the air is wrapped around her like a blanket, easing the soreness from her muscles. She’s quite comfortable, despite the railing against her back and the rough cement beneath her.

 _I can’t fall...asleep._  

She shakes her head once, and opens her eyes, pushing herself into a straighter sitting position. She glances over at Carmilla, but her face is still turned towards the sky, arms stretched out beneath her head.

“So, how come you like the stars so much?” Laura turns her body slightly, so she’s facing Carmilla. She hopes a conversation will keep her from drifting off.

“I’m not sure,” Carmilla mutters, “I just always have. It’s like...ugh, this is going to sound stupid.”

Laura shakes her head, even though Carmilla’s attention is still on the sky. “No, it won’t. Go ahead, I want to know.”

Carmilla takes a deep breath. “I guess it’s not really the stars themselves. It’s the...vastness of space. Even the largest celestial objects - the brightest sun or the most massive black hole - they’re all dwarfed by the sheer, almost incomprehensible vastness of space itself. I mean it’s so large, that we measure it by the speed of light and not by any normal measurement of distance. And even that, even a single measurement representing the _distance light travels in a year_ , doesn’t seem adequate. I mean, when we talk about objects outside of our solar system, we have to talk in terms of millions and _billions_ of light years. It’s profound.” Carmilla laughs and turns her head slightly, eyes catching Laura’s and holding them.

“And you know what? The stars we’re looking at right now? Well, it’s taken so long for their light to reach us that those stars have probably already lived and died and supernovaed into another form of existence and we won’t even be able to tell for another million years.”

“Oh,” Laura manages to mutter. “That’s...I feel like most people would find those ideas frightening.”

Carmilla shakes her head lightly. “I don’t. I find it...comforting. Yes, it does sort of mean that in the grand scheme of things our lives and our choices don’t really matter. But, that’s sort of freeing. And we may not be important, but nothing else is either, we’re all small in comparison. All our problems, all our fears, all our mistakes, they’re small too. And, out of everything that has existed in the universe, or does exist, or will exist, somehow how we’re existing here, on this tiny little planet, in these bodies, at the same time. That makes everything we do sort of special doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Laura says quietly, “I guess it does.” After a few moments of eye contact Laura tears her eyes away and laughs. “You know, you’re kind of a big romantic softy.”

Laura swears she can feel Carmilla roll her eyes. “I am not. I just like the idea that no matter how immense my fears or problems seem to be, they aren’t really anything at all. Like this shit that’s happening to me right now, it’s...I don’t know how to process it, but in the grand scheme of things, I’m not that important and so neither are my problems.”

“Hmm,” Laura mutters, “I heard you and Laf talking today, about you being thirsty all the time, but you can’t really drink water? Is that bothering you a lot?”

Laura had been meaning to asking both Laf and Carmilla about the conversation she overheard. Yes, being thirsty was probably annoying, but it didn't seem that important to her, not in comparison to all of the other strange things happening to Carmilla's body. She didn't understand why both Lafontaine and Carmilla seemed so upset by it.

“It’s not a thirst, Laura.” Carmilla’s voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. Laura can’t help herself, she moves closer, leaning in so she can catch all of Carmilla’s words.

“Or at least it’s not like any thirst I’ve ever experienced before, and it’s not like hunger either. It’s both, but also more at the same time. It’s like an ache and I feel it with my entire being like...I don’t know, It’s hard to explain.”

“Can you try to explain?” Laura asks quietly. “It might help me... _us_ understand everything better.”

“I can try,” Carmilla replies, “but I can’t guarantee that it will make sense.”

Laura reaches out and hesitantly places a hand over one of Carmilla’s, where they’re intertwined above her head. Her fingers brush lightly against Carmilla’s hair in the process and it sends a shudder through her body. “That’s okay if it doesn’t make sense,” she says quietly, “It will still be helpful.”

Carmilla takes a deep breath before pushing herself up straighter, removing her hand from under Laura’s in the process. To Laura the loss of contact is acute, but Carmilla doesn’t seem to notice as she runs her hand through her hair distractedly, trying to organize her thoughts.

“It’s...I do feel hungry, or thirsty, or maybe both, but my stomach doesn’t hurt the way it does when you’re starved. My throat feels dry though, like all the time, and I feel this...ache everywhere and it’s like...I don’t know. The only experience I’ve had that comes sort of close to describing it is...when I was young, I think like six, I almost drown. I was swimming in the ocean and I was pulled under by the current and that ache I felt while I was struggling just below the surface, that sort of burning, desperate need for air, that’s close to what I feel now, nearly all the time. Only, I’m not desperate for oxygen, or for food, or for water.”

Laura can feel her heart beating rapidly in her ears as she tries to make sense of Carmilla’s words. “What...what are you desperate for?”

“I don’t know Laura,” Carmilla says softly. She stares resolutely at her lap and the frown on her face makes Laura doubt her words. _She must have an idea of what she's...hungry for_.

She shrugs once before looking up, her forehead still creased with worry. “I guess I'm desperate for...Laf’s supplement?”

“Okay, I think I do understand...better. Thank you for telling me.” Laura’s voice sounds strange even to her and she can feel the hairs raised on the back of her neck and on her arms. She can’t make sense of it all, and what Carmilla describes sounds like science fiction and not science.

Not for the first time tonight, she feels incredibly conflicted. The scientist in her wants to rush back to the lab, to look over old test results in an attempt to make sense of Carmilla's confession, but another large part of her, the part of her that is just  _her,_ wants to wrap an arm around Carmilla's shoulder and say anything to make the other woman feel safe and protected and  _normal_.

A loud buzzing causes Laura to jump, bringing her back to her body and to her senses before she can decide on any sort of action. She searches through her lab coat pockets until she finds and pulls out her phone. She checks the screen quickly - _it’s almost 2:00am already?_ \- and sees a message from Kirsh; the guard is switching out and he can’t cover for their absence much longer.

With a sigh Laura pockets her phone and turns back to Carmilla. Her eyes have returned to the sky, but her face no longer displays the same blissful contentedness as it did earlier. Instead she is still frowning and, while her gaze may be turned towards the sky, Laura doubts she can see anything beyond her own worries.

“Is it time for us to return to imprisonment, cutie?”

Laura nods and sighs. “Yes. It’s time to get back to reality.”

Carmilla takes one last, long look at the stars above her before standing up quickly and making her way towards the door. “I guess we’d better get back to it then, you’ll need at least a few hours of sleep if you want to be any help with ginger’s tests tomorrow.”

Laura hesitates for a moment before moving to get up herself. She doesn’t want to leave the roof, not yet, and she knows sleep is a moot possibility for her now anyway, but whatever spell they’d both been under for the past few hours has broken. Laura can feel the subtle difference in the silence between them; it’s heavy, weighed down with the complexity of their situation and their unequal doctor-patient relationship.

She's no longer  _just_ Laura, she's Carmilla's doctor - just one of the scientists keeping her hostage and failing to uncover a cure or a proper means of treatment. Laura can actually feel her heart constrict with the knowledge, the lightness in her chest she usually feels when alone with Carmilla is replaced with a heaviness that makes getting up off the ground impossibly difficult.

But she stands up nonetheless and walks slowly, stiffly to the rooftop door. Carmilla's lounging inside and she looks more tired than she has in days. "Ready to go, Doc?"

Laura just nods, not trusting her voice, and she leans down quickly to pick up the shoe she'd used earlier to prop open the door. She probably shouldn't have done that, it was unsafe. But then again, this whole excursion was terribly unsafe. 

"Are you okay, cutie? You look...unhappy."

Laura looks up from the shoe in her hand and quickly shakes her head before moving to shove her foot back into the sneaker. "I'm fine Carmilla, just tired...and annoyed that we haven't been able to help you more."

Carmilla just frowns before reaching out and taking Laura's hand in her own, leading her back down the stairs and towards their hallway. "Don't be upset with yourself, Laura. You saved my life, you and Dr. Frankenstein. And it's not your fault I'm stuck here." She shrugs and squeezes Laura's hand once, lightly, before dropping it to reach for the door handle. "Besides, you're not allowed to be sad after a stargazing session - that's my job only."

Laura feels a bit the lightness returning to her chest and she smiles. "I guess you're right." She quickly follows Carmilla through the door, hoping her excitement doesn't show so clear in her voice. "You know, maybe we can do that again at..."

"LAURA! Thank god, where have you been!?"

Laura spins around, heart jumping into her throat as she searches for the familiar voice. Danny is striding quickly down the hall, her hand gripping the gun on her waist tightly. Lafontaine is just a few feet behind her, hair a mess and skin much paler than usual.

Laura instinctively steps in front of Carmilla, shielding her from the two redheads rushing down the hall. "What's going on Laf? Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

"Why am I here? Isn't the better question, why aren't you in the lab? And  _why_ is the patient out of the lab  _without protective gear on?_ "

Laura takes a deep breath, bracing herself for the verbal lashing she knows she's about to receive. "Look, we just went up to the roof..."

Lafontaine shakes their head quickly, looking hurriedly down the hall to examine the large double doors which lead to the lobby. "It doesn't matter, we need to get back to the lab NOW."

Laura examines Laf's features closely for the first time since being discovered in the hall, and the wild glint in their eyes paired with the slight shaking of their hands is enough to cause Laura's heart rate to accelerate. 

"Laf?" she questions slowly, voice an octave higher than normal. "What's happened?"

Lafontaines shakes their head and their face seems to crumple slightly. "It's spread, Laura. I don't know how, but someone got a hold of it...of the viral form and...my god Laura, someone's used it as a weapon. It's spread..."

"Stop talking" Laura cuts them off sharply, "Wait until we're back in the lab." She reaches behind her instinctively, grabbing ahold of Carmilla's hand before pulling her, stiff and silent, down the hall, away from the lobby doors.

Once they reach the IDP lab Laura harshly swipes her card through the slot next to the door and pushes all three of her friends through the doorway before entering herself.

She turns around, heart beating fast enough to cause her head to pound. The adrenaline suddenly racing through her body burns away all the exhaustion and the fear and the doubt she'd felt earlier, replacing it with a strong desire for information, for action. She allows herself to take a deep breath before turning to where Lafontaine is leaning, shaking, against a countertop. 

"Tell me everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the nice, angst free intro chapters lovely humans, because things are about to get serious. 
> 
> :)
> 
> As always, let me know what you think!


	6. Aerosol Dissemination of a Viral Contagion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Two chapter updates in as many days?!? That's amazing!"
> 
> Yes, yes I know and you're welcome :)
> 
> (But seriously, I'm sorry there was a two week break between chapters 4 & 5, and thank you to whoever stuck around long enough to keep reading. I'll try to adhere to a more acceptable update schedule in the future.)

Carmilla’s throat is impossibly dry.

She tries to swallow, to force some moisture down into her esophagus in an attempt to alleviate the awful sensation, but her mouth is dry too.

And she can hear them, hear Laura and Lafontaine and that Amazonian redhead. She can’t hear what they’re saying, she can’t make out any words past the rushing in her ears, but she can hear _them_. The steady, frantic pounding of three separate hearts.

It’s almost as if her head is pounding in unison with their hearts, and it makes a sort of soothing, rhythmic lullaby when combined with the sound of their blood rushing in her ears, always speeding up and then slowing down in time with the thumping of that one precious organ.

She should speak up, say something, _anything_ , to get Laf’s attention. She needs a dose of her supplement; if she’s being honest, she should have had a dose hours ago.

But she was with Laura, on the roof, looking at stars and pretending for a few beautiful moments that she isn't losing control of her mind and body. Up there, with the wide open sky above her, she had hardly even noticed Laura’s erratically beating heart. Well, at least she had been able to ignore it.

But she can’t ignore it now and she can see Laura’s blood pulsing through her carotid artery, right in that sweet spot above where the smooth muscles of her neck meet and combine with her shoulder. She wants to be there, to place her mouth on that soft, delicate skin and bite down oh so slowly...

She shudders, she can’t help it. She’s feeling that ache again, the one that starts in her throat and spreads like a fire through her body, spreading and burning until it’s all she can do to just keep control of her movements. She knows where her body wants to take her, what it wants her to do, but the piece of her mind that is still _her_ doesn’t want that. Instead she holds on tightly to the edge of the chair she’s perched on, knuckles white. She closes her eyes and shakes her head, attempting to rid herself of the image of Laura, neck open and vulnerable, that seems seared into the back of her eyelids.

“Carmila, are you okay?” Lafontaine’s voice reaches her as if through a tunnel, and she’s surprised she hears them at all over the chorus of beating hearts.

It takes effort, but she manages to open her eyes and lift her head up, quicker than should be possible. She normally tries to keep strict control over her movements, to make sure she doesn’t move fast enough to concern her doctors, but she’s desperate right now to make eye contact with Lafontaine, to make them understand, somehow, what she needs.

“What the fuck is wrong with her eyes?” It’s the Amazon speaking this time and when Carmilla’s gaze falls on the tall security guard, it takes every last ounce of her willpower not to lunge forward and take from her what her body needs.

It’s easier to stop herself with Laura and Lafontaine, she actually _likes_ them, but she can’t seem to find a reason not to rip the other woman’s throat out.

_Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?_

She tightens her grip on her chair, trying to ignore the enticing sound of rushing blood and beating hearts long enough to formulate actual words. She takes a deep breath in, through her mouth so she doesn’t have to smell them too, and switches her gaze to Lafontaine.

“I need…the supplement...now.” She closes her eyes and mouth tightly as soon as she’s spoken, embarrassed and frightened by the sound of her own voice. It doesn’t sound like her at all, it’s low and dangerous, almost a growl.

“Carm, what’s wrong with you? What’s happened?” Laura’s voice is an octave higher than normal, her concern etched clear on her face, and it makes Carmilla’s stomach turn. Laura shouldn’t be concerned for her, not after what’s she’s imagined doing to the caring, kind-hearted doctor.

When Carmilla doesn’t respond Laura steps forward hesitantly, as if to reach out, but before she can move more than a few feet Carmilla is gone. Her heart had constricted in fear at the prospect of Laura getting any closer and she’d jumped back, knocking her chair over, and fled at an impossible speed to the opposite side of the lab.

“Stay away from me!” she hisses. When she sees the shocked and hurt look on Laura’s face, she feels as if her malfunctioning heart is breaking. “Please,” she says, much more softly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Before either Laura or Danny can respond to Carmilla’s words, Lafontaine is approaching her slowly and cautiously, much like one might approach a dangerous, wounded animal.

“It’s okay Carmilla, you’re alright.” They pitch their voice low, keeping eye contact as they inch forward. “I’m sorry you didn’t get a dose sooner, I know this is really...uncomfortable for you. But this will make you feel better.”

The container in Laf’s outstretched hand is not nearly as appealing as the doctor themself - their fear is causing their heart to pound out a crazed, enticing tattoo - but Carmilla forces herself to take the container instead.

It’s with a relief she feels in her very _soul_ that she brings the smooth metal bottle up to her lips and drinks the sweet mixture, swallowing down large gulps greedily.

Immediately her throat feels better and the once overwhelming sound of heartbeats diminishes with every pull she takes, the ache and burn also receding from her chest and limbs.

Only once she’s drained every last drop of the supplement does she look up, somewhat sheepishly.

“Sorry,” she mumbles as she toss Lafontaine the empty container. “I didn’t mean to scare any of you.”

“Scare us?” Danny’s voice is a mixture of disbelief and disgust. “It looked like you wanted to kill us. You’re eyes were _red_ for fucks sake. What is wrong with you?”

Carmilla wants to fire back a sarcastic remark, anything to show that the giant’s comment hadn’t hit a nerve, but she’s still too disgusted with herself to think of anything witty. To be truthful, she has no idea what’s wrong with her, only that whatever it is seems monstrous.

“Hey!” Laura mutters angrily. “Don’t talk to her like that. She’s just...she’s ill.” She turns towards Carmilla, taking a few cautious steps forward. “Are you..okay now? Do you want to talk about what just happened?”

Carmilla just shrugs and shakes her head before jumping up to sit on the counter behind her.

She hates the concerned and disappointed look on Laura’s face, but she most definitely _does not_ want to try and explain what she just experienced right now, especially not in front of that hulking, judgemental dimwit of a security guard.

She breathes a sigh of relief when Lafontaine speaks up in her stead. “Now’s not the time, Laura. Carmilla will be fine until morning and we have much bigger concerns.”

“I’m sorry, but isn’t she sort of part of the bigger concern?” Danny’s voice is a bit sharper than usual, probably a side effect of the fear still causing her heart to beat abnormally fast. “Whatever’s been released in Europe and in the States is the same...disease that she has. Are you telling me that a few million people are now going to be just like _her_? And what exactly is wrong with her? Does she have some sort of mutated rabies virus or something?”

Carmilla scoffs, but otherwise keeps silent. She has to admit that Xena sort of has a point. In her...blood haze...she’d forgotten about why she and Laura had been interrupted by the ginger squad out in the hall, and she'd had very little brain space since to deal with the news of multiple bio-terrorists attacks.

The idea that someone had purposefully infected other people with whatever virus she has was terrifying. Of course it wasn’t rabies - surely anyone with half a brain could tell that - but what she was afflicted with honestly seemed much worse. And if those people didn’t have access to the supplement Laf had made for her...Carmilla can’t help but shudder at the thought of what they might do.

“So what are we going to do?” Laura’s still standing at the opposite end of the lab, but he eyes dart over to Carmilla every few seconds.

Lafontaine sighs and sinks down on a stool, running both hands through their hair before glancing up. They look utterly devastated and exhausted. “I don’t know. The reports aren’t very clear yet and I only know because J.P. caught wind of the attacks when he was hacking into some places he probably shouldn’t have been.”

Carmilla clears her throat, refusing to make eye contact with anyone as she speaks. “How can you be sure it’s the same...disease affecting me? And how could that even happen?”

Lafontaine laughs, but it’s hollow and bitter. “I created the disease, I should be able to recognize the symptoms. But it’s not the same, or at least not exactly. It’s been...weaponized. The spread was done through an aerosol attack over a number of major cities, which means someone was able to manipulate the virus, increasing its virality. What you have, it’s not airborne, it can’t even survive outside a host, and it can only be spread through direct contact with your blood.”

They shrug their shoulders, a hard glint entering their eyes. “As for how someone was able to alter the virus and release it...well the Corvae had full access to our research for days before the CDC cut them off. They _are_ military contractors after all and they’ve been in the biological weapons game longer than most.”

Carmilla’s heart constricts painfully and the sudden heaviness in her chest makes breathing difficult. _Her mother_. She must somehow be responsible for this.

To her surprise she finds herself speaking, her voice quiet and emotionless. “The Corvae, some of it’s...employees have ties to terrorist organizations in Western Europe, specifically a group of radicals based in Styria called the S.I.L.A.S.”

Danny’s brow furrows and her voice is full of mistrust. “How exactly do you know that?”

“Her mother,” Laura whispers, shock and something close to betrayal etched into the lines of her face. “She’s the head of pharmaceutical research and development for the Corvae, which basically equates to their biological weapons division.”

She turns towards Carmilla and the anger visible in her eyes makes Carmilla want to huddle further into her corner of the lab. “You _knew_ that? You knew the Corvae worked with terrorists the whole time you were here, after they took all our research, and you didn’t say anything? Why? Are you...are you working with them?”

Carmilla’s eyes sting with unwelcome tears and the hurt blossoming in her chest feels like a punch. She takes a quick breath in, attempting to push away her anguish and gather her anger around her instead.

“How can you even ask that?” Her voice is sharp, scathing. “I’ve told you that I don’t work for them, I told you that I never wanted to. I hate them and everything they stand for. You think, if I was helping them create this...this plague, that I would tell you about their connections right now?! I’m trying to help! And I’m sorry it didn’t occur to me sooner, when I was _dying_ and then infected with a disease _you_ helped create, to tell you about a rumor that I didn’t even think could be true!”

She’s breathing hard through her nose and she hates the way her voice sounds, thick with unshed tears. “You don’t have to trust me, or even like me, but don’t you dare call me a liar.”

She closes her eyes swiftly and balls her hands into tight fists. She wants to lash out, to replace the hurt she feels with physical demonstrations of her anger, but she refuses to look more like a monster in these people’s eyes than she already does.

“I’m...I’m sorry Carm.” All the anger and self-righteousness has gone out of Laura’s voice, replaced with what Carmilla can only identify as regret. “I do trust you, and I believe you. I’m just...I’m just so tired, and I can’t understand how this is happening.”

Carmilla shakes her head, but she allows Laura’s eyes to find hers and she can easily see the apology there.

_God, this woman is going to be the death of me._

She wants to stand up, to walk over to Laura and say or do something to show her that she’s forgiven, but before she can move the Amazon is speaking again.

“Laura, I’m not sure if it matters that much _how_ this has happened.” Danny refuses to look in Carmilla’s direction, instead addressing the room as if she wasn’t present.  “What matters is what we can do to help. Lafontaine?”

Lafontaine looks up from the ground, brow furrowed. “I...I honestly don’t know. I’ve developed a promising inoculate against the strain Carmilla is infected with, but I have no idea if that will work against this weaponized strain, and it won’t help the people already infected at all.” They pause for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

“Carmilla’s infection developed uniquely, from a mutated form of the vaccine. I’m not sure how the Corvae created this weaponized form, if they used Carmilla’s blood as a base or samples from Larry...uh, the rat that, for all intents and purposes, is patient zero. I might be able to create an inoculate and maybe even a form of treatment if they used Larry’s version of the virus as a base, but I won’t know unless I can get access to the actual virus. Not just the data.”

“So what do you need me to do?” Danny’s tone is forceful and her hand moves down to the weapon on her hip, pulling it out of it's holster to methodically check the clip.

“What do you mean?” Laura’s tone is once again filled with concern, and the fact that it's directed at that hulk of a security guard makes Carmilla’s chest tighten.

“I mean, we obviously know that the Corvae are responsible for this and luckily for us, the Corvae’s biological weapons labs are in the same building we’re in right now. So what do I need to go and find for us to make this thing go away?”

Laura opens her mouth to protest, but Lafontaine quiets her with a look. “We can’t ask you to do that Danny, the Corvae are bad, with big bad army dudes to show for it. You could get hurt.”

Danny shoves her weapon back into her holster, eyes blazing. “People are already getting hurt. People are dying! It was supposed to be my job to make sure the things you do in these labs don’t hurt innocent people on the outside! So you _will_ tell me what to go and find so that you can work your science magic and find a cure!”

Carmilla can’t help but let out a small chuckle. “And how exactly will you getting caught or dying while trying to break into the Corvae labs help anyone, Xena?”

Danny rises her eyebrows and glares in Carmilla’s direction, opening her mouth to speak.

Carmilla just sighs and rolls her eyes. “Look, I’m not saying this to save your ass or anything. But if you get caught sneaking into those labs, then we won’t be able to try again and then we won’t be able to find a cure for this god-awful thing.”

“She’s right.”

Carmilla’s eyes snap to Laura, watching as she runs a hand through her hair. She looks up suddenly, catching Carmilla’s gaze and holding it. “Danny, It’s great that you want to help, but the chances of you getting in and actually finding what we need are slim. Carmilla, on the other hand…”

“Wait just a second,” Lafontaine shakes their hand and holds up their hands, as if to physically stop Laura from continuing her train of thought. “Are you actually suggesting that we have Carmilla, who is _infected_ , roam around the CDC building, looking for whatever lab developed this weaponized strain?”

“That is exactly what I’m suggesting. Let me explain.” She stares pointedly at both Danny and Lafontaine until they close their mouths. “Carmilla’s mother is part of the Corvae, a very powerful part. If she gets caught she can make up a believable excuse for being there. She can say she’s looking for her mother or something. And, she’s more familiar with their layouts and methods, so she would probably stand a better chance of finding whatever lab we’re looking for.”

“But she’s not a scientist,"Lafontaine interjects, "She wouldn’t recognize the samples even if she found them.” 

“Neither is Danny, but I can go with Carmilla since I’ll be able to recognize the virus when I see it. And you have to admit she has certain new...abilities...that might help if we do get caught.”

Danny scoffs, “What, you mean her red eyes and sudden penance for violence?”

“Okay, hold on just a minute, all of you.” Carmilla tries, and fails to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She _does not_ like being spoken about as if she isn’t in the room.

“When I said Danny shouldn’t go try and play the hero, I didn’t mean that I wanted to go in her place. I have no idea how this building is set up and I don’t think I’d have as easy access to the Corvae labs as you seem to imagine.”

“I need... _we_ need you to try Carm. Maybe what we find could even help cure you.” Laura’s voice is pleading and the hope in her eyes is enough to make Carmilla want to gag...or volunteer to help.

Carmilla takes a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re exhausted. All of you are. Whatever we do, we can’t do it tonight. It’s almost morning and we need better preparation anyway. If we _do_ this, then we’ll need that computer guy’s help and we’ll need to get Ginger Number 2 to help us figure out where to even go. For now, you all need to get some sleep and I need another dose.”

Danny rolls her eyes and cross her arms impatiently. “What, are you like the leader of this little group now? And _another_ dose? Are you addicted to that stuff or something?”

Carmilla fights the growl that’s forming in her throat. She really _really_ can’t stand this particular redhead. “I’m not the leader Clifford, I’m just the only one thinking clearly right now. And I’m not addicted, but I need another dose if I’m going to refrain from biting your head off.”

“Oh really? I’d like to see you tr…”

“Enough!” Laura’s voice echoes through the lab, her frustration more than evident. “Carmilla is right, we can’t do anything tonight and I need to at least try and sleep. But Carmilla, stop threatening the people trying to help us, or I swear I will lock you back in the secure lab, super speed be damned.”

“Fine.” Carmilla snaps and stands stiffly, moving towards her small cot. She could kick herself for even getting involved in the conversation - what’s it to her if Xena gets herself caught or hurt trying to break into the Corvae labs anyway?

But try as she might, she can’t get the image of Laura’s neck out of her head, nor can she forget the pull she’d felt to tear into the security guard and her doctors. She’d only gone a few hours without Laf’s supplement, but she’d wager she was only minutes away from losing all control and hurting someone, maybe even someone she actually cared about.

She’s not a hero, not even close, but she wouldn’t wish her experiences onto anyone. She has no doubt in her mind that she would hurt - even kill - her closest friend if she went long enough without getting a dose. And those people out there, the ones infected, they don’t have a brilliant, mad scientist to conjure up some life-saving concoction.

They would want _blood_ and they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from taking it.

She grabs another supplement container from the small fridge, trying to suppress a shudder, and snatches the ipod she’d all but stolen from Laura too, before settling down on her small bed.

She can’t deny it anymore, not like she did at first. She craves blood. The idea is sickening and impossible to comprehend, but there is no way she can deny it. She’s spent an entire week fighting the urge, listening to the heartbeats around her and telling herself that it can’t be true.

But it is, somehow. And the ‘supplement’ that Laf created for her? All it contains is synthetically generated blood. It saved her life, woke her up, and now it’s the only thing keeping her from giving into this disease and losing herself completely.

She sighs, the familiar weight of self-loathing settling on her chest. How could she possibly explain what’s happening to her to someone like Laura? Laura’s too _good_ , she wouldn’t be able to wrap her head around Carmilla’s new appetite without viewing her as a monster. But then again, maybe it would be for the best if Laura did despise her.

Carmilla is dangerous, she can feel the potential for violence in her limbs, the barely contained energy that could do so much damage if she let it. And she’s not blind, she knows Laura has developed some sort of...crush on her. She can see it in the way her heart speeds whenever they get too close, or the way her eyes soften when they’re alone together.

It’s no good, and certainly not safe. Laura’s too good for her, she would be even if Carmilla hadn’t been turned into some sort of monster. Now she’s just dangerous, and there is no way she could forgive herself if she ever hurt Laura, if she ever lost control around her…

Carmilla digs her nails in the palms of her hands until she feels her skin break. The pain is distracting enough to bring her out of her thoughts and she sighs, resigned, before she grabs her supplement container. She doesn’t even taste the coppery substance, just drinks it fast in the hopes that it will keep the wild hunger inside her at bay.

Once she finishes she closes her eyes again and turns up the music on the ipod resting in her lap. With Laura’s music blaring in her ears she can block out the others in the room easily enough, or at least mostly. She can still hear their heartbeats, it’s like she can almost sense them, but she works hard to ignore that too. She wishes desperately that she could sleep, just slip into unconsciousness for at least a few hours. But she knows she won’t be able to, she hasn’t slept since she awoke from her odd, semi-conscious comma.

She tries to lose herself in the music instead, focusing on remembering the time she spent on the roof. It feels like much longer ago than just a few hours. She recalls all the words and the very few touches she’d shared with Laura, locks them away in her memory with the knowledge that she can’t let anything like that happen again.

For a while she even allows herself to imagine that she’d had the courage to say all the other things which had floated through her mind as she sat, content and happy under the stars. She would have called Laura beautiful and asked her about her childhood, her parents, her friends. She would have told her how much she admires her strength and kindness and unwavering resolve.

She would have, if there hadn't been apart of her mind aching to spill and taste Laura's blood, to  _kill_ her. But there was, some new and terrifyingly strong part of Carmilla, brought on by Laf's virus, which made her more monster than human. And monsters should not be allowed quiet, peaceful moments on rooftops with people like Laura.

Eventually she sees the lights dim through her eyelids and she senses more than hears Laura lay down in the cot beside her own. She tries to subtly turn the music down so that she can hear Laura breathing, in and out in a steady manner that helps to soothe the mess in her heart and head.

“Carm?” Laura’s voice is feathersoft with exhaustion.

“Hmm?” Carmilla turns the music off completely, listening instead to the unique rhythm of Laura’s heart. She likes that she can tell so much about Laura’s emotions by it’s beating.

“Are you okay? We didn’t get to talk about what happened tonight.”

Carmilla sighs, rolling on her side to face Laura. She can see her figure in great detail, despite the dimness of the room. She’s curled up, almost like a child, with her hands held tight against her chest.

“I’m fine, cutie. I just waited too long between doses of Laf’s medicine.”

“But, I’ve never seen you like that before. You looked...different, so pale and...and scared, and your eyes were actually red.” Laura has her eyes open, staring towards the cot opposite her own, and Carmilla is deeply grateful that Laura can’t see her face in the darkness.

“What do you want me to say Laura? That’s never happened to me, so I don’t know how to explain it. I waited too long between doses and I got...thirsty, and I almost couldn’t control myself.”

She pauses for a moment, gathering up the courage to utter her next words. “I think...I think it would be best if you locked me back up in the secure lab. At least until Laf can come up with a cure, or a treatment or something.”

“Carmilla, no.” Laura shakes her head against her pillow, voice forceful. “You’re not a prisoner, even if sometimes you feel that way. And you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not going to punish you for something you don’t have control over.”

Carmilla lets herself enjoy the warmth spreading through her chest at Laura’s words before continuing. “It’s not that I want to punish myself Laura, it’s that I’m not safe around you, or anyone, right now. I don’t know what’s happening to me, but it’s not good cupcake. Something in me wants to hurt people, and I don’t know how well I can control it. It keeps getting stronger, and it might at some point become stronger than I am. I don’t want anyone to be around me when that happens.”

Laura is silent for a moment, her face scrunched up in thought. “Earlier, when we were on the roof, you told me about the...thirst you feel. You told me you didn’t know what you craved, but I think...I think you weren’t telling the truth. I think you know what it is you need.”

Carmilla can hear the frantic pounding of Laura’s heart as if it’s her own, and the rapid rise and fall of her chest across the small space between their beds makes Carmilla's hands itch with an urge...to comfort or to consume, she can’t quite tell.

“I was lying. I know what my...body wants. I’ve known for days now.”

“What it is?” Laura’s voice is barely above a whisper, but it’s crystal clear in Carmilla’s ears.

Carmilla closes her eyes, not wanting to see the look on Laura’s face when she finally admits the truth. She tells herself that it’s better this way; if Laura sees her as a monster then maybe she’ll keep her distance and be safer for it.

“I want...I _need_ blood. God help me, _I want to drink human blood_. It’s almost all I can think about, and it makes me want to do very...violent things.”

Laura’s heartbeat somehow manages to pick up speed, racing in such a way that it actually makes Carmilla concerned for her wellbeing. “Are you okay, cutie?”

Laura takes a deep, deep breath before speaking in a rather high pitched voice. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just you know...not used to getting that sort of news very often.”

Carmilla almost wants to laugh, completely taken aback by Laura’s attempt to sound casual.

“You know I can hear how fast your heart is beating, right creampuff? There’s no need to try and pretend you’re not scared.”

Laura huffs, lifting her head off her pillow to glare in Carmilla’s direction. “I’m not scared okay? It’s just...a little shocking to hear. I’m a scientist Carm, but you don’t follow the rules, medically speaking, and you’ve sort of been turning everything I’ve ever known to be true upside down since you walked into this lab. Pardon me for needing a few moments to come to grips with everything.”

“You should be afraid, Laura. You _should_ be afraid of me, you shouldn’t trust me, and you should lock up me in that secure lab. I’m sick, there’s something very wrong with me, and until you can figure out how to fix me, I don’t think I should be around anyone.”

Laura’s silent for a moment, thinking over Carmilla’s words. Then she actually smiles and rests her head back down on her pillow. “You’re so over dramatic Carmilla, honestly. You are sick, and I will find a way to make you better, but if you were really capable of hurting me or anyone else, then you wouldn’t be sitting here begging me to lock you up. Now stop talking so I can get some sleep, we both have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

Carmilla lays there in stunned silence for an uncertain amount of time. She’d been so sure that once she told Laura about her...condition, that she’d turn away in disgust and fear and lock her up in the secure lab the minute she was able to. She was not anticipating such a casual acceptance. She can’t deny that a part of her is glad Laura doesn’t hate her, but a bigger part of her is afraid. Laura is putting too much faith in Carmilla’s ability to overpower her disease, and the consequences of that misplaced trust could be dire.

Carmilla sighs, staring at the ceiling while she tries to organize her thoughts. The only solution she can come up with is to talk to the ginger tomorrow morning, get them to agree to locking her up. Carmilla’s been a lot more candid with Lafontaine about her cravings and she thinks she might be able to convince the scientist that the best place for her is far, far away from everyone else.

But she can't do anything until morning, so she lets herself enjoy one more night of almost freedom. The lovely smell of the yellow pillow under her head, combined with the soothing sound of Laura's steady heartbeat, is enough to lull her into a sense of comfort and safety and eventually she drifts off into the waking-dreamstate that is the closest she can get to sleep nowadays. Tonight it seems good enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always love to see your comments, so please take a moment to let me know what you think :)


	7. De Novo Copy-Number Variations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New plans are hatched and sacrifices are made.
> 
> Or, Carmilla is a lot braver than she gives herself credit for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....it's been awhile guys.
> 
> Like two months.
> 
> Sorry for the lack of an update, my life just got all sorts of busy and I couldn't responsibly prioritize writing a fic (as awful as that sounds)...but I'm back! Well, I'm trying to be. Here's a chapter and the next is already partially written so I hope to have that one up soon.
> 
> Thanks for sticking me with creampuffs :)

When Laura wakes it’s with a start; a sharp intake of breath and a skip in her heartbeat which Carmilla can detect from across the room. She pauses mid-sentence and her eyes move quickly from the redheaded scientist in front of her to the lump of a figure lying prone on one of the lab’s two cots.

“Is she awake?” Lafontaine asks quietly and Carmilla nods her head.

“Meet me in the secure lab?” Carmilla quickly whispers, “We can continue this conversion there, I just want to...bring her some coffee.”

Lafontaine glances for a moment at Laura and grimaces slightly. “You got it, champ. I’ll be waiting.”

Carmilla nods again, and gives Lafontaine a quick smile to show her gratitude. There had been a number of important decisions made while Laura slept and, while Carmilla appreciated Laf’s help and empathy, she’d rather be the one to fill Laura in on the their current plans.

Because Laura definitely wasn’t going to like them.

Carmilla takes a quick breath to steady her nerves before quietly walking over to the counter containing both Laura’s signature Tardis mug and a relatively fresh carafe of coffee.

The mug was compliments of Danny, who seemed to have a key to Laura’s apartment (a fact which Carmilla found deeply troubling), while the coffee was a gift from the  _ third _ redhead of the group, a nervous curly haired woman who Carmilla didn’t completely trust. She had far too close of ties to the Corvae for Carmilla’s taste, but everyone else seemed to trust her so...at least Carmilla was somewhat sure that she hadn’t poisoned their coffee.

Still, she had drank the first cup to be sure. Mixed with Lafontaine’s new supplement it hadn’t tasted half bad and it definitely wasn't poisoned.

Once Carmilla pours the correct amount of creamer and sugar into the mug, really far too much to be healthy, she walks it carefully over to darkened section of the lab which acts as a makeshift bedroom. Laura doesn’t stir but Carmilla can tell she’s awake, her breathing and heartbeat don’t match the peaceful, slow rhythm Carmilla’s come to association with Laura’s sleep.

She kneels down in front of the cot so her face is only a inches away from the one buried beneath a blanket and carefully waves the mug near the pillow, wondering if the smell of coffee is as enticing to Laura and Laura’s scent is to her.

Probably not.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Carmilla mutters quietly, “I think it’s time to get up.”

The only response is a series of mumbles and groans and a tightening of the blanket around Laura’s head.

Carmilla almost smiles at the response, it would be enduring if it wasn’t a direct indication of the amount of stress Laura was under. The doctor was never one to sleep in, or sleep much at all for that matter, but after such an physically exhausting week, it was no wonder she had slept for a solid 12 hours.

Instead Carmilla frowns slightly, hesitating to reach out and touch the blanketed figure. She really ought to wake Laura up and the enhanced supplement Laf had conjured up in the early morning hours certainly made her feel more in control of herself, but something about touching Laura seemed...wrong. The touch might be soft, but there was such violence lying in wait behind Carmilla’s limbs that the touch would seem like a lie, like a trick.

Carmilla pulls on the blanket lightly instead. “Laura,” she mutters, “You should wake up now. We’ve got things to do and besides, I brought you coffee.”

This time Laura manages a word along with her groans. “Carmmm,” she whines softly before peaking her head out from beneath the covers. Her name on Laura's lips makes Carmilla’s nearly dead heart flutter and she swallows quickly to cover any visible reaction she might have.

"Laura," she mutters back, taking a moment to examine Laura's features befores she opens her eyes. She looks tired, but not as much as she had last night, something which Carmilla is grateful for.

Laura smiles and blinks slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the light for a moment, but only just a moment. Once she's opened them enough to notice the brightness of the room she sits up straight quite suddenly, head whipping around franticly. “What time is it?”

Carmilla manages a smile while she almost shoves the mug of coffee into Laura’s waiting hands. “It’s about 3:00. You've been asleep for quite awhile, cupcake.”

“3:00? As in 3:00pm?” Laura looks almost panicked and she throws off her blankets, nearly spilling her coffee, before Carmilla can put a reflexive hand out to stop her. They both pause when Carmilla’s too-cold fingers come into contact with Laura’s thigh and Carmilla hates that she can hear Laura’s heartbeat pick up. Just one more thing that feels wrong, like a trick.

“Hey, just hold up a second,” Carmilla says, slowly pulling her hand off of Laura’s leg. “Everything is alright...well as alright as is possible, given the circumstances. And trust me, you’re going to need that sleep if the last 10 hours are any indication of what the next few days...or weeks are going to be like.”

Laura face falls and her words sound heavy, like she's just now remembering the events of last night. “What exactly did I miss?”

Carmilla takes a deep breath, suddenly wishing she hadn’t volunteered to fill Laura in on the recent change of plans. “I think it’s best if Laf and I explains what’s been happening outside the lab, together - they’ll be able to explain the...medical side better than I can - but there is one thing you need to know.”

Laura’s expression quickly takes on a hint of fear which mingles with the worry already present in the furrow of her brows, and the sight of it makes Carmilla’s heart ache. “What is it Carmilla? What’s happened?”

“It’s more what’s going to happen,” Carmilla says softly. “We found out earlier this morning from both that Perry woman and J.P. that breaking  _ into _ the Corvae labs is going to be all but impossible. Even if I took all of the CDC security with me and had Perry guiding us, we wouldn’t make it anywhere close to the weapons development lab.”

“Okay,” Laura says, still frowning, “So what’s the new plan.”

Carmilla smiles a small smile before uttering her next words. “Well the new plan is still sort of similar. I’m going to get the virus, or any data I can, but I’m not going to do it by breaking in. I’m going to contact my mother and go in willingly - “

“Carmilla, no! That’s...that’s ridiculous. That’s - “

“Our only option,” Carmilla finishes. “Now please, hear me out.”

Laura pauses, her mouth half open, before slowly closing her eyes and nodding. “Okay, I’ll listen.”

“Okay,” Carmilla repeats, trying to ignore the fear growing in her stomach. It is her plan, but she doesn’t particularly like it. “My mother has wanted...custody over me since I was infected. If I show up in that section of the building and tell her that I want her help - if I tell her that the CDC hasn’t been able to help me - she’ll take me in without question. Once there I’m sure I’ll be watched, but my mother isn’t that likely to keep me completely prisoner. Perry’s already laid out where I can find the weapons lab, so once I have a moment alone I’ll sneak out, grab what we need and, with the help of Clifford and the Navy Seal, I’ll make my way back here. Then once Laf has the new virus hopefully they - and you - can do something to stop the chaos happening outside.”

Laura is silent for a moment, playing with the handle of her mug. “I don’t like it,” she says finally. Her voice is small, almost like a child’s.

“I didn’t think you would,” Carmilla sighs, running a hand through her dark hair. “To be honest, I don’t like it much either, but it’s the only option we have.”

“How can you be sure?” Laura’s gaze is searching, her eyes running over Carmilla’s face with a look of determination that makes Carmilla feel exceptionally vulnerable.

“Trust me,” she replies, breaking eye contact to stare at her hands, “We’re sure. And we don’t have time to think up another plan anyway.”

Laura shakes her head and begins to argue. “But theres -”

“Laura,” Carmilla interrupts, her voice far more confident than she feels. “Trust me, this will work, okay? Now please drink your coffee and for god’s sake eat something and then meet me and Laf in the inner lab. There’s still a lot we need to catch you up on.”

Carmilla rises quickly but stops before turning completely towards the doors to the S.L. “Oh and Laura? Don’t...don’t look at the news yet, just come talk to Laf and I as soon as you can.”

Laura takes a deep breath before nodding her head. “Fine, I’ll be in there soon.”

Carmilla lets her lips tug upwards into a smile she doesn’t feel but hopes will ease Laura’s fears before turning and heading towards the secure inner lab. She wants to believe that the hardest part is over, that knowing the plan is accepted by everyone will make going through with it easier, but the tingling of her palms and the familiar fear in her chest makes any such fantasy hard to believe.

She’s going back to her mother, and she’s doing it willingly. She hasn’t a clue how she’s going to escape once she's handed herself over to the Corvae, but she’ll have to manage somehow. If not for herself, then at least for Laura.

 

_

 

“Are you really telling me that you’re all okay with this plan?”

Laura voice is exasperated and despite the long night's sleep and a few cups of coffee, she still looks much too exhausted for Carmilla’s liking.

“Yes, Laura,” Lafontaine mutters from beside their microscope, “I can’t say it’s a particularly good plan but it’s definitely the best one we have.”

“Lafontaine's right,” Danny seconds, glancing for a moment at Carmilla as she does. “There’s no other way we’re getting in the lab otherwise and besides, this is as much Carmilla’s mess to clean up as it is yours. Not to mention that her...illness gives her certain advantages that will make this easier for her than for anyone else.”

Carmilla just manages to hold back an eye roll from where she sits atop one of the inner lab's counters. For the first time since she’s been been infected she’s not the only one not wearing a suite in the inner lab - all three of the others are without protective gear too - and she wonders briefly what would happen if Xenia ‘accidentally’ became infected with one the Laf’s deadly viruses….

...but she is sort of needed to help get Carmilla out of the the Corvae labs, so maybe another time.

“But Laf,” Laura continues, “what about the supplements? Won’t Carmilla need them? We have no idea how long they’ll hold her there, it could be days and she can't...she can't last that long. Not to mention that if we’re going to stop the spread before it’s too late then we need to do something _right now_.”

Lafontaine sighs and rubs their eyes tiredly before answering. “I improved the supplements so Carmilla can go longer without them and besides, this really is our only option Laura. Arguing about it is just wasting time.”

“She’s right,” Carmilla adds. “I’ll be fine because I have to be. And I’ve been drinking as much as the supplement as I can before I go. Thanks to Laf, I know what I’m looking for and I’ve got the frequency for Xenia’s radio channel so I can make contact as soon as I’m good to go. Besides, look at what’s happening out there; we need to do  _ something _ and that something is this.”

Laura opens her mouth to speak, but closes it quickly. She’d begun arguing against the plan as soon as she'd been caught up on both its details and the news from outside, but her every argument has been met with a more convincing counter-argument. She just shakes her head and looks at the coffee mug in her hands. "Okay," she says finally, "Okay, if this is the plan we have, then I guess this is the plan we have."

“I still can’t believe they haven’t linked what’s going on in the States and in, what, half of Europe and Asia to to our labs.” Laura’s voice has turned incredulous and she shakes her head slightly while talking. “Surely the CDC labs on the mainland can see the connection between the accidental infection here and the breakouts everywhere else?”

Lafontaine just shrugs. “ They kept the details of Carmilla’s infection pretty quiet, I think partially because they wanted the opportunity to militarize it with impunity. That’s hard to do if most of the CDC or even a part of the WHO can recognize the symptoms and trace them back to one of their own civilian labs.”

Carmilla can’t help the bitter laugh that escapes her mouth. “Of course the government wanted the option to militarize it. They were going to do that with whatever you two came up with. Why else allow the Corvae space in the same building as you? Besides, look at how fast it’s spreading. It’s airborne and easily transmutable, right? Who knows if there’s enough uninfected CDC personnel to even attempt to combat it? No one's heard a peep from anyone in North America since the blackout went into effect this morning. No boats, no planes, no civilian communication to speak of. It’s the same in the European countries infected - mandatory quarantine zones and heavy military roadblocks - and with every hour that goes by more and more locations are going dark. This is a fucking shitshow and even if we get the virus, there’s no telling if there will be anyone left to save once you two figure out a cure or a vaccine or something.”

Danny lets out a low whistle and shakes her head. “Geesh, let us know how you really feel, because we’re all so optimistic here that we really needed a display of your cynicism.”

Before Carmilla can fire back her own retort Laura shakes her head. “No, Carmilla is right. Or at least partially, and being unrealistic about the situation isn’t going to help anyone. It’s pretty safe to say from the footage we’re seen that whatever weaponized version of the virus was released, it is very different from what Carmilla was infected with.”

Carmilla can’t help a shudder at the memory of the few videos they’d managed to find before the information black-out. “It’s very different,” she adds. “I at least have some control, I’m still me...mostly. But those people infected? They seem barely human.” 

Lafontaine stands up from their chair suddenly, eyes locked on something beyond the doors of the secure lab. “And that is exactly why we need to act now. I honestly don’t know if there’s a cure out there, but we can at least make an innoculate to help those not yet inflected...but I’ll need the new virus to do that. Carmilla, Perry is here. Are you ready to go?”

Carmilla takes a deep breath and finishes off the container of supplement she’d been nursing. Oddly enough, after 6 cups, she feels almost full - a feeling she didn’t think she’d ever feel again.

It's a feeling she certainly hopes will last.

“I am,” she says with as much conviction as she can muster. She stands and can’t help but lock eyes with Laura as she makes her way towards the inner lab’s doors. “Or as ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

The look on Laura’s face is one of worry and fear and exhaustion, but also something else. Something that almost resembles  _ pride _ , and it makes the fear building in Carmilla’s chest feel a little less heavy. She's not sure anyone's ever looked at her that way before.

She tries to walk past Laura with a small smile but the doctor grabs her hand and it holds her in place despite Carmilla's superior strength.

“Hey,” Laura mutters, “You be careful okay? And don’t take too long. It’s your turn for the pillow tonight so I expect you back here in time to use it.”

Carmilla almost laughs, but she can’t quite manage one past the lump in her throat. “You’re more a fool than I thought if you think I’d let you have that pillow tonight, Cupcake. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She winks and somehow smiles before pulling her hand gently out from Laura’s grasp. She doesn’t look back once she’s out of the inner lab and she barely pays attention to the words exchanged between Laf and Perry, just outside the lab's one and only exit. 

She’s too busy replaying last night's events in her head, trying to gain a modicum of courage from her memories. 

The hours spent on the roof with Laura honestly feel like a lifetime ago and the subsequence near miss with the supplement afterwards is like a distant nightmare. She focuses mostly on Laura and the roof, trying to remember the way Laura's face looked in the moonlight. It's not a hard image to conquer up, it's been in the back of her mind for the last day now, and it helps to alleviate the unease growing in her chest.

Before she really knows it she’s being led out of the lab proper and down the hall by Perry. They move quickly and silently, past Kirsch who gives them a thumbs up, and then hurriedly through the lobby, heads down in the hopes that no one recognizes them. They needed be too concerned, the lobby seems oddly empty to Carmilla.

In an impossibly short amount of time they’re in front of the Corvae entrance and two muscled uniforms are stepping forward, all scowls and aggressive movements.

Perry speaks clearly and confidently, holding her head up with a sense of authority that Carmilla finds completely unexpected.

“Ms. Perry and Ms. Karnstein to see Director Morgan. She’s expecting us.”

For a moment Carmilla can’t help but wonder if trusting Perry was a bad idea, she sounds nothing like the nervous girl Carmilla had witnessed in the IDP lab, but before she can really contemplate any sort of emergency escape plan she’s being led through the doors, Perry’s hand on her shoulder, and she tries to picture Laura’s smile as she walks down the hall. She feels like a condemned soul, walking their last steps towards damnation, and she thinks maybe that feeling isn’t too far off from the truth when she hears the familiar echo of clicking heels in front of her.

“Carmilla, darling. I’ve been terribly worried.”

Carmilla swallows past the lump in her throat and tries to sound as unafraid as possible as she looks up at the sharp and smiling face before her. “Mother,” she manages to say, just a moment before she feels cold, unrelenting fear grip her chest.

_Her heart_.  


It's not like Perry's or the guards, its not beating at the expected pace, but it's not like Carmilla's either.

 

It's not beating at all.

 

 


	8. Genetic Redundancies within a Fixed System

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small victories are often accompanied by hardships.
> 
> (Or, things maybe go from bad to worse)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See look at this, I am totally attempting to stick to decently timed updates!
> 
> See you soon for the next chapter...well, soonish...probably.

_68 hours Post Outbreak_

_Center for Disease Control and Prevention_

_San Juan, P.R._

 

 

“Have you finished analyzing the results from Experiment 027 yet?”

Lafontaine’s voice is mostly static in Laura’s ears, more vibration than sound as it travels through the small speakers in her suit out into the sanitized air of her helmet. It’s familiar of course, but it still makes her jump slightly. As engrossed as she is with her work, she hadn’t heard her partner enter the secure lab nor walk up rather clumsily behind her.

“Actually,” She says slowly, eyes still on the screen in front of her, “I have finished.”

After one last appraising glance to confirm her results Laura carefully removes her hands from the keyboard and spins around in her chair to face Lafontaine. Despite her exhaustion, her face breaks out into a smile. “And this time I think you’re going to like what you see.”

“Oh really?” Lafontaine’s eyebrows rise skeptically, but they still smile back briefly before bending over Laura’s shoulder to examine the results on the computer screen.

After a moment Laura hears Lafontaine’s sharp intake of breath crackle over her suit’s speakers. “Holy hell,” They mutter, “This is…this is excellent.”

“Mmhmm,” Laura answers, still smiling gently.

“It worked perfectly!”

“It did.” Laura nods her head, “It really, really did.”  

She sits back for a moment, letting her own relief wash over her in steady waves while she rests her head on Lafontaine’s shoulder. She doesn’t believe she’s ever felt so tired, tired on a  _molecular_ level, but it’s possible she’s never felt this satisfied either. It’s a small victory they’ve won for sure, but after all the blows they’ve been dealt, it still feels like something worth celebrating.

Experiment 027 is the last of over fifteen attempts Laura and Lafontaine have made to create a viable inoculate against Carmilla’s form of the z205 virus - a task which, with every new failed experiment, had begun to seem more and more impossible to Laura. After all, how does one promote immunity against a virus capable of altering its host's own DNA at alarming rates while simultaneously mutating itself into new and unfamiliar forms? 

Laura had been close to giving up – a vaccine which could successfully work against a virus with such a high variety of mutated forms had never, ever been developed in the history of modern medicine - but Lafontaine’s resolve had not faltered. They’d been the one to create such a virus and they were convinced they could be the one to temper it.

Of course, they had been right. In a rather brilliant stroke of genius Lafontaine had crafted a new anti-viral protein base which worked not against a known virus, but against their own _original_ protein base – the base which had given birth to the z205 monstrosity. The vaccine would not develop immunity against a single virus, but would rather build a defense against any virus whose structure was a replica of the original vaccine base.

It was unprecedented, unfounded, and it had also worked. Perfectly.

Once a subject was given the vaccine and inoculated against the hostile protein base, it didn’t matter how the virus was then introduced, nor how it mutated within the host. The subject’s antibodies could recognize the base structure and eliminate it in a molecular battle that only resulted in a slightly raised core temperature and a short-lived fatigue.

The vaccine of course couldn’t do anything to help those already infected, like Carmilla, but it _would_ save others not yet exposed from facing the same fate.

And it made the idea of potentially creating a treatment for already infected individuals seem just a little bit less impossible.

“We can use this, can’t we?” Lafontaine doesn’t look up from the screen just yet and their voice is a mixture of both disbelief and wonder. “We can use this same base structure to create an inoculate for the weaponized form as long as the Corvae didn’t alter the virus too much, can’t we?”

Laura nods her head without lifting it from Laf’s shoulder. “Yes, we can. And we will. As soon as Carmilla gets back with those samples we’ll start on crafting a similar vaccine for vz-205.”

She pauses for a moment as the familiar sense of unease brought on by thoughts of Carmilla fills her chest. The satisfaction she’d felt only moments ago quickly dissipates, popped like a fragile bubble by her own sharp fear and doubt.

“And she should be back any time now so we shouldn’t stop working.” As she speaks Laura lifts her head off of her friend’s shoulder, rolling her own shoulders back in an attempt to both alleviate the tension there and force her body to regain some of its energy.

“We should...we should continue testing this vaccine and contact General Philips to see if we can get approval for human trials…or we should at least generate a few doses of a human-applicable vaccine just in case we have the opportunity for trials later.”

 “Laura,” Lafontaine mutters softly, finally turning away from the lab’s computer, “you’re exhausted. You’ve been awake since she…since she left and I think you should sleep. After you get some rest we can talk about her, about Carmilla, and what we’re going to do if -”

Laura shakes her head rather violently while walking over to the specimen cages which house the still alive and seemly immune test subjects. “If what, Laf? There’s nothing to discuss besides all the things we _still_ need to do to be ready for when she gets back.”

She bends down so she’s level with the vitals display and tries to ignore the way her heart has begun to race. She has to focus to keep her tone even, and she thinks it still sounds a little higher pitched than normal. “It’s only been 48 hours and we all knew it could be days before she was able to contact us. I’m not giving up and neither should you.”

“Laura,” Lafontaine says again and their voice sounds like a warning but also like an apology. “I’m not giving up, but you must realize that there’s a chance she’s gone right? An unscheduled Corvae plane took off only four hours after she left us and we’ve had nothing but radio silence since. According to Perry the director was on that plane and she hasn’t heard anything that might indicate that Carmilla is still - “

“That’s enough!” Laura’s words are accompanied by suddenly heavy, gasping breaths which Lafontaine can hear through their own suit. Her small frame is frozen where she kneels beside the subject cages and there is a noticeable tremor in her shoulders and hands.

 “Just enough, okay?” Her words are quieter now, but she remains stiffly kneeling. “We...we let her go. We let her  _sacrifice_ herself to fix a mistake that we made, so the least we can do is not...is not give up on her okay? We don’t have any real evidence that she was on that plane and until we do, we should...we should keep working and expect her to come through.”

Lafontaine nods, thinking carefully before choosing their next words. Laura was exhausted but more than that, she’d begun to have that sorrowful look in her eyes which Laf remembered only too well from when the young doctor had first arrived in their lab. It was a look of an individual who was near devastation, whose hold on hope was precarious at best, and Lafontaine did not want to witness what might happen when that small amount of hope was lost.

“You’re right,” they say slowly. “I’m not giving up on her, no one is. I just think it would be wise to have a...back up plan, in case things don’t go our way. As you and I both know, things really haven’t been going our way lately.”

Lafontaine feels a flood of relief when Laura’s panicked breathing begins to calm and the trembling in her hands slowly stills.

“Alright,” Laura acquiesces, finally standing and turning around to face Lafontaine, “What exactly do you suggest?”

“Well,” Lafontaine says, looking at the clock behind Laura’s head. “First I think it’s a good idea to get you out of that suit. It’s nearly midnight and you’ve been in this lab for far, far too long. You need rest and food before you fall over.”

“But we have work to - “

“And,” Lafontaine interrupts, leaning forward far enough to grasp Laura’s arm. “We can discuss both a follow up plan and a method to continue work on our vaccine. Danny and Perry are on their way so I think now’s the best time to discuss our next step.”

Laura sighs but allows Lafontaine to pull her towards the S.L.’s exit. The panic in her chest has diminished enough for her to feel the exhaustion in her limbs and the pangs of hunger in her stomach.

“Okay,” she breathes, “I guess some food and news would be nice.”

“And by food you mean something other than that vending machine crap you’ve been surviving off for the past two days right?”

Laura manages a laugh, although it sounds hollow to her ears. “Yes, I could go for some real food, maybe even some tacos?”

Lafontaine chuckles as they swipe their access card through the security panel next to the lab’s exit. “I’m pretty sure at this point all the cafeteria has is tacos, so you might be in luck.”

Once they enter the decontamination zone both scientists wait silently as fast streams of sterilized air buffers their suits. After a short minute the familiar buzz of the sliding door indicates that it’s safe to exit and Laura steps back in the outer lab for the first time in over 7 hours.

It takes her a bit longer than usual to remove her protective gear, exhaustion making her movements slow and careful, but Laura still beats Lafontaine to the lab’s central counter which has also become the lab’s makeshift kitchen table. It was filled with old candy bar wrappers and stained coffee mugs the last time Laura checked, but it’s now clear and looks to have been rather meticulously cleaned.

“Lafontaine, did Perry clea -” Laura’s words are cut short by a loud buzzing and the sound of the lab’s main glass door sliding open. She sits down slowly on one of the stools surrounding the counter while Perry rushes hurriedly through the door, Danny following close behind. Both women are weighted down with plastic bags which Laura secretly hopes contains something besides small bags of chips and cookies.

“Laura, it’s so good to see you!”

Laura doesn’t fall to notice Perry’s overly bright smile and she attempts a small smile back while waving casually from her seat. “It’s good to see you too,” she responds, “both of you.”

 “Hey Perr!” Lafontaine walks over quickly to remove a few of the plastic bags from Perry’s and Danny’s hands, giving a smile that only looks slightly out of place on their exhausted face. “How did everything go?”

“Oh not bad,” Perry mutters, “But not especially good either. What’s left of the Corvae in the building won’t let me anywhere near their labs.” She pauses, examining the pronounced circles under Lafontaine's eyes with a slight frown. “But how are you? When was the last time you slept?”

Laura sees Lafontaine shrug noncommittally before the tall redhead in front of her grabs her attention. Danny looks, if possible, more tired than Laura feels and her already imposing frame is strengthened by both a Kevlar vest and a large assault rifle, which is swung almost causally over her shoulder.

 “Hey,” she breathes out, taking a seat next to Laura. “So you look sort of terrible.”

“And you look sort of ready for a war,” Laura replies, gesturing to Danny’s military gear. “Why do you have an automatic weapon in the lab?”

Danny sighs, setting a bag which smells suspiciously like tacos down on the table beside Laura. “I have an automatic weapon because despite the fact that we’ve been under martial law for the last day there is still a rather angry mob outside our building and some of them have decided rock throwing is an excellent way to demonstrate their...dissatisfaction with our current situation.”

“Rocks, really?” Laura shakes her head, reaching for one of the white boxes Danny pulled from her bag. A flood of gratitude rushes through her as she spies her favorite burrito. “I thought the city was given military reinforcement to help impose the curfew?” she asks through a mouth full of food.

“We have, but there’s not that many soldiers to spare. Obviously we’re not getting any sort of back up from the mainland - according to the National Guard soldiers stationed outside our building no one’s had orders from D.C. in days - and well I guess considering the state of the world right now, a little lab in Puerto Rico isn’t the U.S. military’s main concern.”

Laura can’t help but snort in distaste. “Well we should be a main concern,” she retorts, “they know we’re working on a way to stop the spread of the virus.”

Danny just shrugs. “You aren’t exactly the only ones though, are you? Everyone who can is trying to find a cure and a lot of the other labs have actual samples of the virus.”

Lafontaine sits down next to Danny, reaching for a taco and passing one to Perry behind them. “I still wish they’d give us a sample,” they mumble. “It would make what we’re doing so much easier.”

Laura wants to remind Lafontaine that they  _will_ have a sample just as soon as Carmilla gets back, but Danny speaks up first.

“I don’t blame Philip’s for not wanting to bring a sample here. Right now this island hasn’t been infected, and we should keep it that way. The militarized form of the virus has a what? A 60% full-infection rate, and of the 40% that don’t immediately show symptoms 20% die within hours of exposure. We don’t have a population that could withstand that.”

“True,” Lafontaine agrees, “but the virus is no longer airborne - the aerosol version originally released was only viable outside of the host for less than 5 hours - so someone would have to have blood on blood contact with the infected to become infected themselves. Besides, has anyone else come up with a potential vaccine? Because we have.”

Danny nearly chokes on her food and her words come out in a sputter. “You what? Why are we sitting here right now? We need to get whatever you created to the appropriate military personnel ASAP!”

She begins to rise, reaching for the radio at her shoulder, but Laura puts a hand out to stop her.

“Relax Danny. We’ve been in constant communication with General Phillips, she knows the current status on the vaccine. Besides, so far it’s only been tested on rodents and only with Carmilla’s form of the virus. We have to get access to the militarized form and then go to human trials before we can even think about distributing to the general population.”

“Well then, let’s get you whatever you need! More and more people are getting infected every day, Laura. We need to move on this!”

Laura feels a stab of frustration but she tries not to let it color her tone. “I know,” she says slowly. “Trust me, I know. It took us over 15 trials to generate a successful vaccine and I don’t think either of us has slept at all since martial law went into effect. We’re working as hard as we can but we can’t start performing human trials until we do more testing and we haven’t gotten the go ahead from Philips anyway.”

“Right,” Perry adds. “And there is still some Corvae in the building, so we can’t really blame Phillips for being reluctant to provide us with a sample so can continue testing.”

Lafontaine makes a small noise of disgust. “I still can’t believe no one in their organization has been arrested. Here we are, struggling to formulate a vaccine for a virus we don’t even have a sample of, when I’m absolutely sure they have samples hidden away in their labs. It’s just…it’s ridiculous.”

Perry looks slightly uncomfortable but lays a gentle hand on Laf’s arm. “It is ridiculous, but not surprising. Both the head of the CDC here and the Corvae have denied any sort of connection to the virus and, without someone up top ordering the military to take someone into custody; well I don’t see any arrests being made in the near future.”

Laura shakes her head, closing her eyes in frustration. “If they didn’t have their own small army holed up on their side of the building then I bet Philips would have made some arrests already.”

She pauses for a moment, struggling to keep her mind from focusing on the one person who she knows in her heart is surely being held captive by the Corvae’s army of hired guns mere floors away.

She shakes her head slightly and lets out a deep breath. “But Danny is right,” she continues, “we don’t have that much military support right now and what we do have is needed elsewhere if we’re going to stop civilians from attempting to leave the island or gain access to our building. Everything would go to shit if there was suddenly a violent clash between the Corvae and what remains of leadership on the island.”

“How’s that going, by the way?” Lafontaine nudges Danny on the shoulder. “Has anyone else attempted to leave the island?”

Danny laughs, but it sounds hollow. “We have civilians attempting to leave and enter the island almost constantly, and honestly we can’t possibly be stopping them all. There’re just too many of them and too few of us and most of them are just trying to help their loved ones trapped in the States – that sort of motivation can inspire some seriously bold action.”

“Oh!” Perry quickly sets down the coffee mug in her hand to pull out a tablet from the bag at her hip. “I almost forgot! I have an update on the mainland!”

Laura raises her eyebrows in surprise. “Really? How are you getting information? J.P.?”

“Well,” Perry responds, looking rather self-satisfied. “I still have some contacts in the Corvae, even if I have been sort of pushed out of any information circle here. I guess their labs in the States weren’t affected by the outbreak...make of that what you will...and the Corvae headquarters in D.C. have been acting as a sort of central leadership ever since the Oval Office was compromised. They’ve militarized further and are setting up “camps” for those not affected by the virus. Supposedly they’re attempting to provide some sort of central support and protect citizens from those infected.”

Laura can’t help but laugh and shake her head. “Support and protection? More like a violent takeover. _They’re_ the ones who released the virus in the first place! Or at least gave the virus to whomever then released it. What’s that terrorist group Carmilla mentioned, S.I.L.A.S.?”

“Whoever the hell they are, they seem to have had an uptick in activity in Eastern Europe” Danny adds. “Speaking of untrustworthy affiliates of the Corvae, have you heard anything back from our very own infected patient?”

Laura feels her stomach drop and turn sour. She looks down at her hands and tries to keep her voice light. “Not yet, but we should soon. We _will_ hear from her soon, I’m sure of it.”

“And even if we don’t,” Lafontaine adds, “I’m sure I can convince Phillips to give us samples and once we craft a vaccine...or even some form of treatment...we’ll get Carmilla back, by force if necessary.”

“Is that your backup plan?” Laura asks. “Just leave her there until this is all over? Who knows what those...those monsters might do to her before then?”

Before Lafontaine can respond muffled voices and static erupts from the radio on Danny’s shoulder.

“...Dan...Danny...we’ve had….contact with...infected...repeat...cit...insecure..ase Alpha not...ecure.”

Danny’s hand jumps up to her radio and she’s on her feet faster than Laura thought possible.

“Kirsch! Kirsch! Kirsch, come in, over! Kirsch what is your status?!”

The gun previously swung over her shoulder is now nestled tight against the crook of her arm and she’s moving with determination towards the labs outer doors. “Kirsch, I repeat, what is your status!”

Kirsch’s reply is barely audible over the sound of gunshots and yells. “The island...secure...repeat, the island is not secure! I’m coming to you!”

Danny drops her hand from the radio in order to get a better grip on her weapon. Her eyes blaze as she examines the frozen forms of Lafontaine, Laura, and Perry. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get anything you need because we’re moving out. Now!”

Laura feels her heart beat slow and then suddenly race as Danny’s words sink in fully. “Laf,” she says quickly, rising from the table and turning towards the secure lab. “Grab the backup hard-drives, I’ll get our samples. Perry...grab...grab anything you think we might need. Use the biohazard bags under the sink to pack. They’re clean and they’re all we have.”

She barely waits for their nods of understanding before she’s racing towards the inner lab, swiping her access card through the slot quickly and almost pulling the decontamination doors open in her haste to enter.

 _The samples. The vaccine_.

Those are the most important things, the only things racing through her mind until…

_Carmilla._

She freezes in her tracks, one hand on the single vial of vaccine they’d managed to generate and the other on her mouth.

 _Carmilla_. _She can't leave without her. She won't._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first AO3 fic, so let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me a message on tumblr: sidewaysuptoyou.tumblr.com.
> 
> I'll probably be updating twice a week.


End file.
